I have seen the Chiefs connected to several WRs after Thornton went down with an injury last game. Some are most likely not going to happen such as Brian Thomas Jr., Michael Wilson, and Jaylin Noel. Some I would rather avoid due to a lack of needle moving/consistency are Jerry Jeudy (who knows, maybe he could do better in our offense), Adonai Mitchell (pre-draft reports and lack of availability since being drafted), and Keon Coleman (lots of differing reports and I don’t think the Bills would trade him to us anyway). With all of that in mind, I started thinking of WRs who fit the following criteria(let me know if I missed an important criteria):
Veteran presence (at least 3 years of starting NFL experience or considered to be an incredibly cerebral player)
On a losing team (projected to be out of contention around the trade deadline) and/or are buried behind several other receivers in a loaded room
Cheaper contract (somewhat equal to 10 million AAV or less)
Not primarily a slot role WR (though Andy Reid has made it work in the past)
What I got from this criteria (with the help of Gemini at times, lol) was the following options:
John Metchie III (Carolina, route running strengths, Z/X/PR role)
I haver really liked John Metchie since college, but he has battled several different things in his adult life. He is considered a high character/locker room guy who can fulfill some of the role that the Chiefs have a need for. He seems to be coming on this year too, compared to his previous seasons. We could probably do a late round pick swap for him and his contract is very affordable. He is 26 years old and is considered to be a player who is a student of the game.
Tutu Atwell (Rams, deep threat/field stretcher, Z/X/PR? role)
Talk about buried on a roster. Atwell’s usage has really fallen this year and to be fair, he has had some drop issues. Still, he is 27 years old and on a cheap contract. This would also be a late round swap draft package and Atwell has shown that he can stretch the field with real long speed. He could come in and fulfill a simple role on the Chiefs offense early. He could be a guy that we keep next year on a cheap contract (less than 5 million a year) and could upgrade the depth of the WR room.
Who knows if either of these guys would be a better option than the depth we currently have in the room (Royals, Allen, Watson), but if the Chiefs are interested in adding some more young(er) depth for future seasons as well, I think these two players are not a bad start.