Chiefs Went Cheap on Receivers and That Could Burn More Than $77 Million
When you think of the Kansas City Chiefs, you're probably imagining an explosive, pass-first offense. The club, after all, is led by Andy Reid and features the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce . But, despite the presence of that brain trust, things haven't been firing on all cylinders at Arrowhead Stadium.
Through 10 games of the 2023 season, the Chiefs sit 13th in points per game (22.5), which would have been almost unimaginable in recent seasons. KC is still (largely) sitting pretty, but that's more due to outstanding individual efforts and an improved defense than anything else.
For much of the current campaign, the narrative has been that the Chiefs' wide receiver corps is the issue. The unit lacks any star power, and that has been largely responsible for the staccato offense. And while there's been enough overall positivity to talk around that issue, a tough defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles shined a light on where the defending Super Bowl champs are lacking.
To make things worse, it's not even about being a bit down one year. When you're in a Super Bowl window, wasting more than $77 million in prime assets is a painful blunder.
Let's break that down.
Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs sits on the bench before their game against the Philadelphia Eagles at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on November 20, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. The quarterback couldn't deliver a win on Monday Night Football. David Eulitt/KC's Offense Came Up Short on Monday Night
During the Mahomes era in Kansas City, the club's offense has provided a bit of a security blanket. Whether the opposition came flying out of the gate or scored a go-ahead touchdown with mere minutes remaining, the Chiefs were capable of punching back.
Monday night, however, was different. KC secured an early lead and simply couldn't score as Philadelphia mounted a comeback.
On a night where the defense stood tall, limiting Jalen Hurts and company to 238 yards and 21 total points, Kansas City's vaunted passing attack came up short. The ground game accounted for 168 yards against the Eagles' impressive front, but Mahomes only threw for 177 more.
The stat lines weren't awful—Kelce caught seven passes for 44 yards and a touchdown, while Justin Watson (five catches for 53 yards and a score) and Rashee Rice (four catches for 42 yards) also pitched in. But there just wasn't enough consistency to get things done.
Mahomes completed just 24 of 43 passes on the night, which suggests that there's still a breakdown within the offense. Beyond a lack of a preferred option when Kelce is covered, the club's collective pass catchers have failed to step up. The Chiefs dropped five passes on the night, including three on the final drive. One of those, a bomb to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, could have been a potential game winner.
That issue is compounded by the fact that the Chiefs' offense has been extremely bad in the second half of games. Whether that speaks to a lack of playmakers or an inability to pivot off the initial game plan, it's certainly a problem.
Mind-blowing: No team in the NFL is scoring fewer points per game in the second half this season than the Kansas City Chiefs.The #Chiefs are averaging 5.3 points per game in the second half through 10 games.
Every other NFL team has more. pic.twitter.com/QoRlMQ765Z — Ari Meirov November 21, 2023
That said, Mahomes isn't pointing the finger at anyone, at least not publicly.
"I think offensively," he said, "I'm just not where I want to be at this point in the season."
The Chiefs Are Wasting Valuable Time
To be clear, there is some logic to the way the Chiefs constructed their receiver corps. With big-name stars on both sides of the ball, you've got to pinch pennies somewhere. And when you have Mahomes, Kelce and Reid working on the offensive side of things, there's a temptation to rely on them to work magic. "We can take some gambles in the receiver room," the logic goes. "There's enough talent there to bail us out."
In reality, that's partially been true. KC is still sitting at 7-3, but it's easy to see how the lack of a genuine No. 2 target makes everything harder than it needs to be. The current realities have the Chiefs playing a game of very fine margins. When you're scoring only 22.5 points per outing, a single fumble or drop can be extremely costly.
Look at Monday night as an example of that. KC's defense did pretty much all you could ask. They're not going to pitch a shutout, especially against the Eagles. The offense, however, wasn't able to take advantage of the opportunity and ultimately came up short. And given that moral victories don't count in the standings, that strong defensive outing has been (metaphorically) crumpled up and thrown in the trash. A loss is a loss, and next week's response is what matters.
And while losing a few regular-season football games isn't the end of the world, look at this from a longer-term perspective.
While it may feel as if the Chiefs will be good forever, this is the hard-cap NFL . Windows will eventually close, and teams have to make use of the time when they're high on the hog. This year, KC isn't doing that.
A look at the club's salary cap reveals that a shade over $77 million is allotted to three men: Mahomes ($37 million), Kelce ($14 million) and Chris Jones ($26 million). They're worth the money as the core of the team, but they won't be around forever.
Mahomes is an all-world quarterback, but he's only going to have so many prime years. It may seem as if he just arrived on the NFL scene, but he's already 28. Kelce has been a Chief for more than 10 seasons and recently turned 34. He's had some notably quiet performances this season, and even if you believe those are the result of the offense not having a secondary threat, the tight end can't be elite forever.
Jones isn't a spring chicken either (he's 29), but his contract is also a complicated factor. He's playing on a one-year deal, and it's possible that KC won't be able to afford his contract moving forward.
That trio would walk into any NFL team's starting roster, but their star power could be overshadowed by a weak receiving corps.
It goes without saying that building an NFL roster is a balancing act. When you're working around big-time contracts, that money has to come from somewhere. And this year it looks as if General Manager Brett Veach may have gotten the balance wrong.
Again, it's not that the Chiefs are a bad team by any stretch. It's not that paying the likes of Mahomes, Kelce and Jones was a mistake. Instead, the lack of star power in the receivers' room is forcing everyone to play perfect football.
Mistakes are going to happen. Mahomes will throw interceptions; Kelce will lose fumbles. That's simply a part of football. But when the roster is constructed in a way that makes simple miscues unsurmountable obstacles, that's a problem.
Alternatively, put it this way. The current roster was constructed to allow KC to carry approximately $77 million worth of star power this season. If the rest of the team can't support those three men, you've just wasted a year of Mahomes' prime, plus (potentially) one of Kelce's and Jones' final elite seasons at Arrowhead.
Doesn't sound ideal, right? Well, that's the risk the Chiefs have chosen to take.
