Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Matt Nagy agree: Chiefs WR room possesses this strength

Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy was asked about JuJu Smith-Schuster leaving the team in free agency this offseason, yet on Thursday, he was quick to circle back to this current group.

Yes, Smith-Schuster played a significant role last season for the Chiefs. And, of course, his signing with the New England Patriots left a vacancy to fill on KC’s offense.

Then again ...

“We love our wide receiver room right now,” Nagy said Thursday following his team’s OTAs practice. “The guys are competing.”

Listen to enough Chiefs coaches and players the last two weeks and they repeat a similar compliment when talking about this year’s group of wideouts.

While also speaking — specifically — about one perceived team strength at that position.

“I think we’re deep. That’s the biggest thing,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said last week. “Usually you have a good feel for who the guys are going to be and everything like that. But with this group, it’s like every single guy, you’re like, ‘I can see him making a path to making the team.’ So that’s what you want.”

Coach Andy Reid, during his time with reporters last week, commented similarly when asked about his receiver room. He said the team had “a lot of numbers” there, as some young players had been mixing in with the first-team offense.

“It should be great competition,” Reid said last week. “I can’t wait for (training) camp where you really get an idea of that next level, what they can do when bullets are flying.”

Though the Chiefs don’t have an abundance of proven playmakers on the outside, they do have plenty of candidates to step into more prominent roles this season.

That starts with Kadarius Toney, a former first-round pick the Chiefs traded for in October. Toney missed some time last season with a hamstring injury, but when he was in, the 24-year-old showed both quick-twitch ability and strong ball-possession skills.

Nagy also said he expects more from Toney this season after fully learning the Chiefs’ offense.

“It’s exciting now for us to be able to take that to Year 2 and build that relationship with Pat,” Nagy said. “But he’s super-talented with the football in his hands, and he’s been that way his entire life in his football career.”

Another potential breakout candidate is Skyy Moore. Still just 22, Moore will be in his second season with the Chiefs after being selected with the 54th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

New Chiefs receivers coach Connor Embree commended Moore for showing up to this year’s OTAs in great shape.

“He looks stronger, and he’s a little bigger. Then he’s just got that year under his belt,” Embree said Thursday. “So he’s not that little puppy dog anymore. He understands what’s going on, understands the tempo we practice at and just how to be a pro.”

Rashee Rice could also fill an important role for KC in his rookie season.

The 6-2 Rice, drafted by the Chiefs in the second round out of SMU, has “got some juice to him,” according to Embree.

“He’s a bigger body guy that we don’t really have in our room, so he’s a little different in that way,” Embree said. “But he’s been great — been great in the classroom, been great on the field.”

Mahomes said last week he particularly liked the way he’d seen Rice run routes. During previous workouts, Rice had cleverly pulled up against zone coverages while getting a feel for finding the soft spots.

“That’s more of a veteran-type mindset for a receiver,” Mahomes said. “So I was very excited about that.”

Two other Chiefs wild cards at receiver share the same last name.

Justyn Ross, a 6-foot-4 receiver from Clemson, was added to the Chiefs last season as an undrafted free agent before sitting out the year because of foot surgery. He’s flashed with impressive catches during OTAs, including a deep reception the Chiefs posted to social media Wednesday that received more than 1 million views.

Embree said Ross went to every meeting with the receivers a year ago while injured, which helped his overall development.

“I’m excited for him to see him out on the field and see what he can do,” Embree said. “He’s another kind of different body. We don’t have someone like him, so he’s good.”

John Ross, meanwhile, is a former Cincinnati Bengals first-round draft pick that the Chiefs signed to a reserve/futures deal this offseason.

Known for his speed — he still holds the NFL Combine record for 40-yard dash time at 4.22 seconds — John Ross was someone Reid described as “extremely fast and quick.”

“He can really skedaddle,” Reid said last week. “And he’s smart, which you need to be in this thing.”

The Chiefs have others that’ll be expected to contribute as well. Marquez Valdes-Scantling (28 years old) and Justin Watson (27) are multiyear NFL veterans, while Richie James (27) signed with the Chiefs this offseason after a career year with the New York Giants.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette (23) also could be an option after splitting time between KC’s active roster and practice squad a year ago.

Add it all up, and it appears receiver will be especially competitive as players look to secure one of six or seven roster spots at the start of next season.

And yes, that’s even without one of the team’s top returning performers from last year.

“JuJu — great player,” Nagy said, “but we’ve got a lot of great guys we like here too.”