The Kansas City Chiefs believe they may have found their next star receiver for Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in February with a 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Mahomes threw for 182 yards with three touchdown passes, and was named the MVP for the NFL showpiece.
With preparations for the 2023 season beginning to go into full swing, the Chiefs already have an eye on who will be Mahomes star receiver. Tyreek Hill helped the Chiefs win the 2019 Super Bowl, but was traded to the Miami Dolphins last year.
Now the Chiefs are looking to Kadarius Toney to be their next star. The AFC West franchise had wanted the 24-year-old wide receiver in 2021, but he was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round and 20th overall.
Just over a year later, the Chiefs traded a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 third-round pick and a sixth-round pick for 2023 for Toney. In the seven games he played in his debut season in Kansas, Toney had 14 receptions for 171 yards with two touchdowns.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is hopeful that Toney can become the next star wide receiver in Kansas, and fill the void left by Hill nearly two years ago.
“He’s predominately been a guy that is a slot receiver, returner, runner - a gadget guy, if you will - but I don’t know if there is a limit on his game because he has a vertical game,’’ Veach told ESPN.
“I don’t know if [his collegiate team at Florida was] one that vertically pushed the ball down the field, and his time early on in New York, I don’t know if they were a team that really vertically pushed the ball down the field.
“It’s a fair question to [ask]: ‘Has he ever played with a quarterback that likes to push the ball down the field?’
“We have a lot of high hopes for him. He was a first-round pick for a reason. There’s a reason why we traded for him and we felt like he was first-round talent.”
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Mahomes himself is excited at the prospect of continuing to work with Toney on the Chiefs offense. The star QB is backing his relatively new wide receiver to go from strength to strength after having another year under his belt working with coach Andy Reid.
“With Kadarius, I think you saw what the upside this last year of how special of a talent he can be,” said Mahomes to ESPN.
“To have him in that offense another year, have him working with coach Reid and how we practice and training camp, I think it’ll have his body in the best shape that you can possibly be in to go out there and be healthy all season long.
“And so, we’re excited for those guys to take those next steps within this offense.”
