After two Super Bowl victories, the Kansas City Chiefs suffered two potentially devastating injuries to their wide receiver room early in the 2024 season, but somehow still managed to make it back to the big game thanks to the heroics of superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Although they were throttled by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, the Chiefs return just as much talent as last season, firmly placing their sights on another long postseason run this upcoming season.
Mahomes will most benefit from a fully healthy core of receivers in 2025. KC will return Marquis "Hollywood" Brown after his preseason collarbone fracture that sidelined him for the entirety of last year, and Rashee Rice upon his recovery from a torn LCL in Week 4 ... although Rice could be subject to a suspension amid his ongoing hit-and-run investigation.
Those two join speedy deep threat Xavier Worthy, who came up big as a rookie with a team-high six receiving touchdowns, and veteran tight end Travis Kelce, who continues to produce at a high level deep into his career. Kelce was the Chiefs' leading receiver with 823 yards in 2024 despite a slight dip in production from what we're used to seeing out of him.
Kansas City also fills out the room with the once-promising JuJu Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore and rookie Jalen Royals. At tight end, Noah Gray proved that he can be used just as much as Kelce in scoring opportunities, hauling in five touchdowns last season.
The Chiefs' All-Pro quarterback can't wait to get back on the field and showcase this offense and the many passing targets at his disposal.
"It's going to come from everywhere," Mahomes said in an interview with Kay Adams. "Obviously you got Rashee being back. He looks great. Xavier Worthy who came on so strong at the end of last year. You have Hollywood Brown healthy again. Guys everywhere.
"You add in Travis Kelce, a Hall of Famer. Noah Gray, a great tight end. And everybody we've added to all those different rooms. We have so many weapons. Let's just go out there and just maximize it all. It's not going to be just one person, it's going to be the entire offense going out there and showing what the Kansas City Chiefs truly are."
Mahomes, entering Year 9 in the league, thinks this could be the deepest group of receivers that he's had in his career.
"Yeah ... I think it's going to be the deepest," Mahomes said when asked about how this group compares to his earlier teams. "I mean, it's hard to always say, 'You had Tyreek [Hill] and Travis Kelce, Hall of Famers in the prime of their careers' and it's hard to say it can be deeper than that. But at the same time, it's not the depth...
"It's going to be hard to make cuts because we have so many great receivers that we can be eight, nine deep of guys I can see making the roster, and that's what you want. You want competition and we have that. Brett Veach, Coach [Andy] Reid have done a great job of bringing guys in and they've been competing and we're excited to get to St. Joe Missouri and go out there and compete and showcase who we are."
The Chiefs had the 14th-best pass game last season at 222 yards per game and did not score the ball as efficiently as they'd like. Even with crucial receivers unavailable, Kansas City was still able to find a way to go 15-2 in the regular season.
With Mahomes under center, the Chiefs are always a dangerous opponent to face, and that will be more prevalent than ever with this explosive group of pass-catchers all on the field together in 2025.