The Kansas City Chiefs are set to make changes to their two biggest needs this offseason, which are their group of wide receivers and their offensive line. After losing their top receivers to injury last season, Kansas City aims to bolster the unit this offseason.
The Chiefs are talented enough to beat most teams in the National Football League, even with injuries to their top pass catchers. However, they are not talented enough to beat the top teams in the league with the receivers they have now and may have after free agency.
Aaron Schatz of ESPN recently released his list of free agent signings for every team in the league. He believes the Chiefs could be on the verge of losing multiple receivers this offseason, including veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
“Ladd McConkey had a special rookie season as the Chargers’ slot receiver, but quarterback Justin Herbert could still use a real No. 1 outside receiver. The question might be how much Hopkins has left at age 33 after he sort of disappeared for the Chiefs in the playoffs,” Schatz said.
“Hopkins had a career-low average of 10.9 yards per reception this past season. However, he was efficient this past season by receiving DVOA, ranking 39th out of 91 qualifying receivers (that’s better than Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen),” Schatz said.
At 32 years old, the well-respected Hopkins is on the backend of his career. In16 regular-season games, he registered just over 600 yards this season, adding five touchdowns. However he only had three catches for 29 yards during the postseason for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have dominated the AFC West, winning the division nine consecutive seasons. It will take more than the loss or addition of an aging WR to make a dent in the Chiefs’ chances of winning the division for a full decade, but Hopkins is still a loss for Kansas City.
Kansas City must do all it can to add to their skill positions and offensive line to give quarterback Patrick Mahomes the tools he needs to be successful. Luckily, Mahomes does not need much, making things much easier on the Chiefs’ front office this offseason.