The Kansas City Chiefs, like all NFL teams are facing some difficult decisions as the 2024 regular season approaches. With their preseason completed, the team now faces the always difficult process of trimming their roster to 53 players. Many are absolute roster locks, but others are fringe players that could end up on the 53-man roster, signed to the practice squad, or outright released.
One position group that faces questions regarding which players should begin the regular season with the team is wide receiver. While Kansas City has spent resources in both free agency and the NFL Draft on this position, there are still concerns over the quality of the depth.
The Kansas City Chiefs Added Several Wide Receivers During the Offseason
One of the Chiefs’ biggest additions during the 2024 NFL offseason was veteran wide receiver Marquis “Hollywood” Brown. He is coming off of a season with the Arizona Cardinals that saw him catch 51 passes for 574 yards and four touchdowns while playing in 14 games.
His best season came in 2021 when he was a member of the Baltimore Ravens. That year, he had 91 receptions for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns.
Unfortunately, Brown has been out for the last few weeks with a shoulder injury he suffered in Kansas City’s first preseason game. The good news, though, is that he will be ready by the start of the regular season, if not shortly after.
The Chiefs also used their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on the wide receiver position, selecting Xavier Worthy from Texas with the 28th overall pick.
Worthy spent three seasons in college and put up excellent numbers each year:
| Year | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns |
| 2021 | 62 | 981 | 12 |
| 2022 | 60 | 760 | 9 |
| 2023 | 75 | 1,014 | 5 |
Obviously, Brown and Worthy will factor into the Chiefs’ plans for the wide receiver position in 2024. One returning player, though, likely will not.
The Kansas City Chiefs Should Cut Embattled Wide Receiver Kadarius Toney
There was a time where hopes were high that Kadarius Toney would have a successful career in the NFL. After getting drafted with the 20th overall pick by the New York Giants in 2021, he failed to show really any of the promise that had him pegged as a first-round talent.
In his only full season in New York, Toney had 39 receptions for 420 yards and no touchdowns.
He has been even worse since landing in Kansas City via trade in 2022. Last year, he had 27 receptions for 169 yards and a single touchdown.
Now, going into his fourth NFL season, there are those than wonder if he is even a top-eight wide receiver on the Chiefs’ roster. David Kenyon of Bleacher Report wrote, “Truly, it feels like piling on. After several costly mistakes last season, Kadarius Toney headed into the offseason with an uncertain future. And then, the Chiefs signed Marquise Brown and drafted Xavier Worthy. Even as KC might put seven receivers on its opening roster again, Toney is probably the eighth wideout on the depth chart.”
When Kansas City opened training camp, they listed Toney last on their depth chart at wide receiver. He had an uphill battle to make the roster and, with cutdown day coming soon, has done nothing to elevate himself.
He will likely be cut by early next week, though where he might end up is anyone’s guess.
