“How New Receivers Stepped Up to Help the Chiefs Reach the Super Bowl Without Tyreek Hill”
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs lost one of the NFL’s most dynamic receivers when Tyreek Hill signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the Miami Dolphins.
The loss did nothing to slow her down.
Kansas City reshuffled its receiving squad during the offseason, and the new players quickly met quarterback Patrick Mahomes and rode a high-scoring wave all the way to the Super Bowl.
“I’m proud of our boys for the work they’ve done,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Tuesday. “We had a lot of new faces there.”
Kansas City’s receiving side was one of the biggest question marks ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Chiefs placed Mecole Hardman on injured reserve Monday after injuring his pelvis again during the AFC Championship against Cincinnati. Kansas City also faced the possibility of missing two more after JuJu Smith-Schuster left the AFC title game with a knee infection and Kadarius Toney sprained his ankle.
The good news: Both were back in training this week.
“You look good,” Reid said. “We’ll see how it goes for the rest of the week.”
It went well for most of the season.
All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce is still Mahomes’ target, catching 100 passes for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns.
With Hill in Miami having an All-Pro season, the Chiefs’ new receivers — Hardman was the only returnee — have spread the field in an offense that led the NFL in points and total yards.
Smith-Schuster was Kansas City’s big offseason pickup, signing with the Chiefs after five successful seasons in Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder is a strong possession receiver who isn’t afraid to catch passes down the middle. He has 78 catches for 933 yards and three touchdowns.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who spent his first four seasons at Green Bay, has incredible speed and led the NFL in yards per catch two years ago. Toney has added depth to the Chiefs since being traded from the New York Giants in October, catching 14 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns in seven games.
Rookie Skyy Moore struggled with fumbling as a punt returner earlier in the season but was a versatile addition on offense. He filled in the role Hill had at Jet Sweeps and had the key point return to set up Kansas City’s winning field goal in the AFC Championship.
“We lost a great receiver of all time in Tyreek Hill, someone who did a lot of great things for us, but we also have a lot of great receivers,” Mahomes said. “And coach (Eric) Bieniemy and coach Reid, they went in there and learned what their strengths are and we’ve maximized that this year.”
It was good enough to bring the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons.
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Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed cleared concussion protocol after being injured against the Bengals, giving the Chiefs the experience they needed in a young defensive secondary. The third-year cornerback was Kansas City’s second-best tackler this season with 108, had 3.5 sacks and three interceptions.
Mahomes is also making progress from a severe ankle sprain he sustained in the divisional round against Jacksonville, although he’s still not 100% fit.
“I’ll go through any injuries the coaches let me go through,” he said. “As long as the coaches are okay with me getting out of there, I’ll play through it.”
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