The wide receiver depth chart for the KC Chiefs still shows a battle at the spot

Now that the Kansas City Chiefs have completed training camp and the first two of three preseason games, the wide receiver depth chart appears to be settling in, for better or for worse. With roster cut day coming up on August 27th, how does KC’s WR room shake out?

Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson

With Marquise “Hollywood” Brown likely to miss at least the first week of the regular season with a sternoclavicular injury and the status of Rashee Rice’s potential suspension still unknown, the top of the receiver room is in great shape — if and when the entire the group plays together. Brown shouldn’t start the season on injured reserve, and it currently seems plausible that Rice could push his discipline into the league until 2025, so I’m assuming those are all active spots and the team most likely starts the year with seven receivers on the roster, at least while Brown recovers.

Xavier Worthy has impressed at every step leading up to his rookie season, and Justin Watson was offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s pick for who will be in position to step up in Brown’s absence. My guess is that we won’t see any of those four receivers take the field for KC’s third preseason game, and their spots in the rotation are secured.

Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore

When I did a similar exercise in June after the team signed Hardman, I had both Skyy Moore and Mecole Hardman in my “proven years and training camp tryouts” category. Ultimately, Moore hasn’t shown much to get excited about in either training camp or the first two preseason games, but Moore has worked extensively with the Chiefs’ starters and secondary, which indicating that the team sees him on the right side of the team. list bubble. How much of that confidence is based on his preseason performances versus his second-round draft status? It’s hard to say without going into the Chiefs front office, but I haven’t significantly adjusted my expectations for Moore in 2024 now I assume he’ll be on the team.

As the group’s veteran boss, Hardman’s spot became even more solid when Brown suffered the injury, allowing the Chiefs to take advantage of Hardman’s experience, which could have been added while preparing for a potential Rice suspension. Now, Hardman seems like an obvious choice on special teams while also providing some stability on offense.

I’m leaving Moore and Hardman in this category of their own because I still struggle to believe the Chiefs hold out significant hope for Moore (and I assume KC would entertain trading him in a change-of-scenes move around roster cuts) and keeping Hardman wasn’t a priority (again) this offseason. If the Chiefs manage to land just six receivers even with Brown out, there may still be a small chance one of the next batch of receivers steals one of the final spots and costs Moore or Hardman a spot in the top 53 of players. list.

Justin Ross, Kadarius Toney, Nikko Remigio

Justyn Ross led the Chiefs receivers in snaps taken Saturday against the Detroit Lions, which paints an interesting picture of his place on the team. The Chiefs didn’t spend significant snaps on Montrell Washington (six snaps), Cornell Powell (10 snaps) or even Nikko Remigio (11 snaps). The team apparently wants to see more from Ross, indicating that he’s still in the running for a roster spot, but that the coaching staff isn’t exactly sold.

Ross, Remigio and Kadarius Toney may have more work in the third preseason game, likely have routes for Chris Oladokun and Ian Book, but the best window to evaluate the receivers has been in training camp and the first two games preseason. While Ross couldn’t block a soul on Saturday, it appears the team still wants to maximize his game-speed reps while figuring out where he fits into the mix. Right now, Ross would be my No. 7 WR pick.

After some exciting moments early in training camp, Toney was unable to stay healthy or build off of some promising days. Comments from Nagy and head coach Andy Reid didn’t look promising for Toney’s case for the roster, and he didn’t show much during his 17 snaps against the Lions.

Remigio, a fan favorite early in camp, feels more like a practice squad project/return specialist candidate if the Chiefs want to make a change in the returning game midway through the season.

I hope these three receivers play the vast majority of KC’s third preseason game, allowing the coaching staff to get another look at the battle for the final receiver spots. Even if they do, they’ll be facing Chicago Bears backups and running routes for Oladokun and Book. Barring outstanding special teams play or a well-rounded offensive performance with a few highlights, it will be hard for this group to show significant growth before the buzzer.

Read more: Chiefs vs Lions winners and losers: The duality of the WR Room shows