The Kansas City Chiefs have made four selections through the first two days of the 2025 NFL Draft. In total, they have addressed the trenches with three of their four picks, two of those coming on the defensive line. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have selected zero offensive skill players to this point.
Some Kansas City fans expected a possible running back selection. Wide receiver or even tight end should not be ruled out, either. Perhaps the Chiefs will make a couple of offensive skill player additions on day three of the draft.
If a wide receiver selection comes to fruition, many pass catchers fall into the same bucket. While this is not an area that Kansas City typically looks for initially from their wide receivers, adding size may not hurt. All in all, plenty of wide receivers are still available who could offer size and strength as a target for Patrick Mahomes.
Adding WR size would be a solid investment
The Chiefs generally lean on speed and change-of-direction skills when adding wide receivers. It can lead to confusion and missteps by opposing defensive backs when trying to account for K.C.'s quickness. Plus, the Chiefs like to have players who can turn on the afterburners after the catch to create additional yardage.
Nonetheless, when Kansas City struggles offensively or falls short of its ultimate goal, it often comes down to one main reason: their offense getting pushed around by overly physical defenses. While the Chiefs have won quite a bit, their playoff losses under Mahomes have often involved the offense getting smothered.
Defensive secondaries have worked to eliminate explosive plays from the Chiefs. If that continues, adding more size and strength for route running and at the catch point would help. Kansas City could also simply benefit from adding a different flavor to its pass-catching room.
Wide receiver depth remains critical beyond 2025
The Chiefs have dealt with no shortage of injuries at the wide receiver position in recent years. Hollywood Brown did not get to fully experience his first campaign in Kansas City because of injury. The Kadarius Toney experiment failed to reach its full potential, in part due to injuries. Other options simply could not stay on the field, despite the team winning back-to-back Super Bowls.
That just goes to show how great Mahomes was during those consecutive playoff runs. 2025 will still be a year where the Chiefs could be tested at wide receiver depth. But with Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster back as veteran pieces, K.C. could have at least four targets Mahomes trusts. Assuming Rashee Rice comes back strong from his injury and Xavier Worthy continues to develop, the signal-caller will have his core group.
But looking beyond 2025, the future of the position is in flux. Is it really viable to imagine Brown or Smith-Schuster still around in 2026? Even outside of wide receiver, Travis Kelce is knowingly nearing the end of his illustrious career. You just do not want to have to keep reestablishing the wide receiver room around Mahomes, if possible. That's why a day-three draft pick could still make a difference for the Chiefs at the position.
WRs to watch for the Chiefs on Day 3
There are a handful of names to watch as potential Chiefs fits at wide receiver on day three. All of the following options offer size and strength as pass catchers. Tennessee's Dont'e Thornton Jr. (6-foot-5), Colorado State's Tory Horton (6-foot-2), and Arkansas's Andrew Armstrong (6-foot-4) can all dominate above the rim. Thornton Jr. and Horton both offer explosiveness after the catch and when working vertically. As for Armstrong, he simply makes the throwing window bigger due to his large catch radius and length.
A couple of other names could also make sense for Kansas City. Miami's Sam Brown (6-foot-2) may not be a special athlete, yet he makes it look simple for his quarterback. He makes difficult catches in traffic and can outmuscle defenders at the catch point. He also appears to be one of the better separators left among names with size.
Finally, Auburn's KeAndre Lambert-Smith (6-foot-1) is intriguing. Lambert-Smith does not waste time in space after the catch. He can adjust and contort in contested catch situations more impressively than other receivers left in the draft with size.
In the end, the Chiefs could shake up their wide receiver room with a new skill set. That could make the difference in helping the offense return to being one of the league’s top-scoring units.
