Kansas City Chiefs: 9 first-round targets in the 2021 NFL Draft

Wide Receiver

Mahomes threw more times in 2020 than in any other season since joining the league. Head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes have developed a system in Kansas City that plays to Mahomes’s strengths: One that prioritizes the vertical passing game and necessitates a roster of capable pass catchers. With the exodus of No. 2 receiver Sammy Watkins in the offseason, the Chiefs will want to add at least one more competent pass catcher this offseason if they hope to keep the Mahomes passing machine running.

Most years, it would be difficult to find sure-fire, elite receiving talent at the end of the first round. But with the gratuitous number of proven wide receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Chiefs have a great opportunity to find a verifiable No. 1 receiver with their late-first round pick. The three listed below have a better-than-average chance of being available when Kansas City is on the clock in the first round.

With the immoderate number of talented athletes on the LSU roster in 2019, it’s understandable why a receiver of Terrace Marshall Jr.’s stature might have gone unappreciated. The championship offense hosted three receivers who all broke LSU receiving touchdown records in just one year. The three receivers combined for 51-passing touchdowns, with Marshall playing a majority of his snaps on the outside. In the shadow of two historically good receivers in 2019, it would take until last season for Marshall to make a name for himself in the 2021 NFL Draft conversation. With the other two pass catchers gone, LSU kicked Marshall inside on slot routes and gave him plenty of opportunities to shine in 2020. Last season Marshall got to show NFL scouts that he was more than just a go-route vertical threat.

At 6-foot-3, 200-pounds, Marshall is able to square up against aggressive cornerbacks, making explosive receptions in traffic. Marshall showed great reflexes last season, exhibiting that he could win against defensive backs in more complex route running schemes as the number one receiver. While he displayed great acuity in 2019 as an outside the numbers, go-route receiver, Marshall was able to flaunt his versatility against coverage last season, winning down the middle, on comebacks and hitch plays. Marshall widened his route tree in 2020, supplying NFL scouts with the proof-of-concept needed to warrant a late-first round evaluation.

In any other year, Marshall would be long gone before the Chiefs got a chance to draft. But with so many proven receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft, Marshall is projected to be a late-Day One selection. Drafting a pass-catcher of Marshall’s ilk would add another level to the Kansas City offense in 2021 and would give the team options as their core of dependable receivers continues to get older. The Chiefs may desperately need a left tackle in the first round this year. But it might be a long time before a talented receiver like Marshall falls to the end of the first round: A place where the Chiefs can expect to be drafting for the foreseeable future.

Florida receiver Kadarius Toney is the type of receiver who in any other year would be universally hailed as the next top NFL receiver. Out of all the talented receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft (which is already a historically talented class), Toney may be the most athletically gifted of the bunch. He is such a joy to watch, with his quick-speed burst, his agility when going into the air to make a catch and the passion he shows that bleeds through the screen. Whether he is cutting back across the field against traffic or bouncing off of contact, Marshall shows a certain passion for the game that is revealed every time the ball gets in his hands.

At 6-foot, 193-pounds, Toney has some of the best film out of all this year’s prospects. He tracks the ball well in traffic, forcing his way up to make receptions. He is well-practiced in motion passes, excelling in 2020 as a jet sweep specialist who can even throw a flea-flicker every once in a while. Whether he is cutting in and out of traffic or pushing himself through contact for one more yard, Toney shows he is ready to be an NFL receiver.

That being said, there are valid reasons as to why he is projected as a late-Day One draft pick. Toney’s pretty lanky and there are concerns about how well he’d fare against NFL defensive backs. Seeing a majority of his snaps in Year Four at Florida, his injury history limited his playing time between 2017 and 2019, with just 50 receptions during that time. Toney also has the bad habit of pushing himself TOO much after contact, taking several nasty hits in 2020 that were otherwise unnecessary, in the context of the game.

Toney also won predominately as a slot receiver in 2020, a position the Chiefs are more than set at with Tyreek Hill. Despite all that, Toney is definitely the type of unconventional receiver that could flourish in Kansas City. His athletic profile is enough to warrant first-round looks. It may be tempting for the Chiefs to covet another athletic receiver to pair with Hill, a pass-catcher who opposing defenses would have to take seriously, opening up vertical and mid-field passing lanes.

Most of the receivers that are hanging around late in the first round will be players who thrived as slot receivers in college. But with Watkins jumping ship this offseason, the Chiefs need another outside receiver to contend in the vertical passing game. UNC receiver Dyami Brown may not be a household name heading into the 2021 NFL Draft. But he could be by the end of the 2021 season if the Chiefs draft him in the first round.

Brown started seeing consistent action two seasons ago, primarily as an athletic outside receiver. At 6-foot-1, 185-pounds, Brown showed in 2019 what he was made of, serving as a big-play waiting to happen for the Tar Heels. With 20-touchdowns and 2,133 receiving yards in two seasons, Brown impressed on the outside with his speed, showing great tracking ability and a tendency to open games wide open, averaging over 20-yards per reception. Brown is the type of player that defenses can never sleep on because he is just one hitch or change of direction away from making a 20-yard reception.

The biggest blemish on his scouting report seems to be his limited route tree in college. This could put off other teams, as most NFL coaches have embraced motioning receivers on a majority of passing plays, necessitating pass-catchers be comfortable with making plays at all levels of the field. But the Chiefs already have two elite-receiving talents who make their bread and butter in the middle of the field. Brown could play as the true outside-the-numbers receiver that draws coverage away from the more established pass catchers.

Brown will need some time to develop, as his 4.46-second 40-yard dash during the UNC Pro Day didn’t do him any favors with scouts. While he looked fast in college, NFL front offices might be put off by that Pro Day number, even if the 40-yard time is as predictive of NFL success as a coin flip. But Brown showed at UNC he could be a legitimate downfield threat, not shying away from contact while displaying solid fundamentals in the process. Brown’s college film should be enough to outweigh any Pro Day measurements.

The Chiefs would have a more dynamic passing offense with Brown on the roster: A vital ingredient so long as Mahomes is throwing the ball in Kansas City. With Hill being an unrestricted free agent after 2022 and star tight end Travis Kelce turning 32-years old in 2021, it may behoove the Chiefs’ front office to build redundancies at the receiver position. Brown would provide a solid vertical-passing threat in 2021 and serve as a possible future No. 1 receiver in training.