The pressure on the Kansas City Chiefs has been apparent this offseason following their eye-opening Super Bowl loss. They've shaken things up at several key positions, including on the offensive line and backup quarterback.
However, wide receiver and running back are two more areas where changes could take place before the season, especially with this week's NFL Draft providing a great opportunity to inject some new talent.
Wideouts Skyy Moore, Justyn Ross, and Nikko Remigio all failed to make a significant contribution over the entire year to get to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco's status as the leader out of the backfield is a lot more uncertain following his difficult leg injury, which has prompted serious discussion about the Chiefs either trading the Rutgers product or drafting his replacement.
That should make it no surprise, then, that these four were spotted trying to get on Patrick Mahomes' good side ahead of the draft.
— Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels) April 17, 2025Patrick Mahomes working out with Skyy Moore, Justyn Ross, Nikko Remigio, Isiah Pacheco, and Elijah Mitchell.
Via IG - patrickmahomes pic.twitter.com/hAjlKh3jCo
In a recent Instagram post, Mahomes showed the group of Moore, Ross, Remigio, Pacheco, and new running back arrival Elijah Mitchell all working out with him. This is pretty customary for the offseason, as players have much more open schedules that allow them to link up and keep building chemistry while games are months away.
That being said, it's especially notable that these are all Chiefs players who are either in danger of not making the official 53-man roster or, at the very least, are competing for a starting job.
Mitchell isn't necessarily on as thin of ice compared to the rest since he's new and Kansas City sought him out in free agency. However, as a runner with a history of injuries, he still needs to prove he's worth taking into the regular season.
With Xavier Worthy primed to become even better in his second year, Rashee Rice set to return, and Hollywood Brown coming back for hopefully a full season, there isn't a lot of room for supporting Chiefs WRs. That could lead to several guys being squeezed out with preseason roster cuts, so Moore, Ross and Remigio desperately need strong camp showings to keep their run in KC going.
And even though Pacheco has done much more for the Chiefs than that trio combined in his time with the team, the NFL is a results-based business with little sympathy for hiccups. His poor 2024 season is the one fresh in the front office's mind, and the fact that KC's leadership has made it clear they'd like a young RB from the draft puts him in a difficult spot -- especially since his contract runs out after the 2025 campaign.
It's going to take more than just some workouts with Mahomes to save any of these Chiefs players, but they're at least putting in the extra time this offseason to set them up for 2025.
