Jalen Royals is built to thrive in the Chiefs’ high-powered offense

The Kansas City Chiefs have added another wide receiver to the pass-catching room. In the fourth round of this weekend's 2025 NFL Draft, K.C. selected Utah State's Jalen Royals. Kansas City had drafted a wide receiver in the first two rounds in three consecutive years prior. Skyy Moore has been a miss for the Chiefs' front office, but Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy both flashed as rookies in back-to-back years.

Now, Royals is hoping to contribute early on for the Chiefs' offense as well. When watching him, it's easy to see why Kansas City would fall in love with a player like Royals. Some of his top traits are what the Chiefs generally lean on from their wide receivers.

Plus, this pick could end up being a bit of a steal if he becomes a key contributor in the offense. Many draft analysts had Royals graded as a Day 2 draft pick. For instance, The Athletic's NFL Draft guru Dane Brugler had him as WR7 on his board and as his 63rd-best player overall in his draft guide The Beast. In the end, the Chiefs landed Royals at pick 133 overall.

Why is Jalen Royals such a seamless fit into Kansas City's offense? Plus, what sort of role can we expect to see him in as a rookie?

Explosive potential when Jalen Royals touches the rock

The main item that stands out from Jalen Royals is his ability to win after the catch. Royals ran away from defenders with ease while at Utah State, and overall, they worked to get him the ball in numerous ways.

Royals was able to take off vertically after getting the ball on quick passes. Meanwhile, his change-of-direction skills, along with his ability to make people miss, painted the picture of him acting as a running back in space. After the catch, Royals simply created so many missed or broken tackles. Those are areas that could give Chiefs fans shades of Rashee Rice when it comes to expectations with his ability.

Beyond the yards after the catch, Royals simply played bigger than his size may indicate. He elevates smoothly for contested or high-point catches, and even over the middle of the field, Royals was confident when making catches in traffic. He also made vertical stacks look too easy at times when defensive backs would press him one-on-one. Royals can create the explosive plays that K.C. needs.

Transition to Chiefs offense is easy to imagine

Kansas City asks their wide receivers to attack in various ways, but when it comes to the plays and concepts they love to utilize, Jalen Royals already displayed a smoothness in similar concepts during his college career. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will look to quick throws a lot, especially early in games. Royals produced easy gains to move the chains on plenty of quick slants, drags, and stick routes.

In the intermediate area, Mahomes is so lethal when attacking the middle of the field or the seams. With Royals, Utah State had him attack with a fair amount of in routes and skinny post routes. Those designs will likely be an easy transition with this wide receiver. Kansas City could also look for Royals to help incorporate more explosives for the offense via vertical shots.

The Chiefs will move their receivers to different points in the formation. They also want to see them win quickly after the catch while being one of the faster pass-catching groups in the league. Royals' aforementioned yards-after-catch ability is one of his best traits. But he also clocked a 4.42-second 40-yard dash with a 1.49-second 10-yard split at the NFL Combine. His speed will fit in nicely, helping to make him a three-level threat.

Projected role for Jalen Royals

Time will tell what kind of update we get on a possible Rashee Rice suspension in 2025. His injury recovery will also remain a key headline of the pass-catching room, to boot. But if all goes well for Rice in his return, he, Hollywood Brown, and Worthy will make up the top three wide receivers on the depth chart for 2025. Royals easily is the best option as WR4 for the Kansas City offense right now, even as an incoming rookie.

JuJu Smith-Schuster can be a solid option as a designed target, but with where Smith-Schuster is at in his NFL career, he arguably makes as big of a difference as a run blocker. Royals can help elevate the pass offense of the Chiefs further in his first season.

Beyond 2025, Royals has the potential to be a top-three wide receiver on the depth chart. Kansas City will continue to be a team that leans heavily on the passing attack. With that, the Chiefs will need at least four to five worthy options to be successful. With his abilities, along with the Kansas City offensive style, Royals can act as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3 for Mahomes.