The Kansas City Chiefs offense is going to look a lot different in 2022 than it has in the last few years. That is because all-world wide receiver Tyreek Hill is no longer with the team.
The Chiefs traded Hill to the Miami Dolphins this offseason, getting five draft picks back in return. While trading away one of the best players at his respective position could very well weaken this offseason, Kansas City does still have Patrick Mahomes under center. As long as he is in the lineup, things should be just fine.
Mahomes is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, possessing a seemingly rubber arm, contorting himself into different angles to make every throw he needs. Combined with underrated athleticism and scrambling ability, he is tough to contain.
With him leading an offense led by Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs should find success no matter who is catching the passes. But, this season, Mahomes believes that it can be tougher to stop this season.
In years past, teams knew where the Chiefs were going; it was either Hill or tight end Travis Kelce. With more depth at wide receiver after the additions of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mahomes believes it will be tougher to game plan against them.
“[Valdes-Scantling], JuJu some of those guys were down there every day, pretty much,” Mahomes said. “And I think the first day [of OTAs], JuJu had a big day — he got a lot of big catches down the sideline. And then the second day Marquez got a big day. And so, I think that’s what you’re going to see from this offense this year, is it’s going to be everybody. It’s not going to be one guy. And, obviously, Travis is still going to get a lot of completions, a lot of yards. But I think the whole receiving room is going to have big days. And I think that’s something we can use to our advantage.”
Mahomes had been putting in work with his receivers in Texas the first few weeks of the offseason program. Now they are all with their teammates and the work put in already seems to be paying off.
A multifaceted offensive attack is certainly something that will be tougher for opponents to slow down. The team still has former second-round pick Mecole Hardman on the roster, in addition to this year’s second-round pick, Skyy Moore and veteran Josh Gordon.
This is a group that may not be as star-studded without Hill, but is certainly deeper as the Chiefs have put together some quality depth heading into the 2022 season. It is something Mahomes seems excited about and is ready to take advantage of.
