Chiefs vs. Saints Snap Counts: KC Leans on Three Wide Receivers in Monday Night Win

The Chiefs kept the rotation short on Monday night, leaning on three wide receivers and four tight ends as the offense got back on track.

Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) celebrates with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (9) and running back Carson Steele (42) after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated as they enter their bye week following a 26-13 win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. As is the case every week, the team's snap counts from the game provide a glimpse into how the coaches and players prepared for the week and to how the team may feel about certain players going forward. This week, even the team-wide numbers are jarring.

The Chiefs recorded a season-high 84 offensive snaps and a season-low 53 defensive snaps, providing a reminder that the Chiefs largely dominated the prime time showdown. Beyond the surface, even more stands out from KC's win.

With only five wide receivers, the Chiefs used three

The most obvious question ahead of the Chiefs' Monday night showdown came from their group of wide receivers. Without Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Rashee Rice (potentially for the rest of the season), how would Kansas City keep the offense on track after a week to prepare? With a heavy dose of the only three healthy receivers Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes seem to trust at this point.

Justin Watson led wide receivers with 59 snaps (70%), just edging out JuJu Smith-Schuster and Xavier Worthy, who both had 56 (67%). Mecole Hardman took just eight offensive snaps (10%) while Skyy Moore took six (7%).

The details tell even more of the story in conjunction with a stat posted on Twitter/X by Adam Levitan: On 44 Patrick Mahomes dropbacks, Worthy ran 35 routes, Watson ran 31, Smith-Schuster ran 29, Hardman ran six and Moore ran zero. The Chiefs essentially only asked Moore to block on the outside, while Hardman received four targets despite running just six routes, implying that the Chiefs wanted to get Hardman the ball in some specific plays while only relying on the top three to play the wide receiver position in a more traditional sense.

#Chiefs WR routes run last night. On 44 Patrick Mahomes dropbacks:

1. Xavier Worthy 35
2. Justin Watson 31
3. Juju Smith-Schuster 29
4. Mecole Hardman 6
5. Skyy Moore 0

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 8, 2024

Smith-Schuster led the team with 130 yards receiving, while Worthy recorded just 25 yards on three catches but added a touchdown on the ground. If you don't remember what Watson did with his 59 snaps and 31 routes run, don't be too hard on yourself; Watson was not targeted and did not record a statistic on Monday night.

All four tight ends get work in revamped offense

All four active Chiefs tight ends out-snapped Hardman and Moore on Monday night. Travis Kelce took 65 snaps (77%), Noah Gray took 51 (61%), rookie Jared Wiley took 18 (21%) and Jody Fortson, in his first game with the Chiefs in 2024, took 11 (13%). The Chiefs took the field in 14 personnel (one running back, four tight ends) on multiple occasions against New Orleans, which coincided with a strong rushing performance from running back Kareem Hunt, who got 27 carries and one catch in his 53 snaps (63%).

In light of KC's wide receiver issues, will this tight end-heavy strategy stick around? Unless (or until) the Chiefs add an impact wide receiver, I'd bet the offense continues to use all four in moments throughout the rest of the year.

Four defensive backs go 53-for-53

Four defensive backs didn't miss a snap against the Saints, as Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Justin Reid and Bryan Cook took all 53 defensive snaps against New Orleans. Not that it's been in question in recent weeks, but those four are clearly established as KC's most-reliable quartet of defensive backs, with Watson's growth and full-on ownership of the No. 2 cornerback position being one of the most underrated storylines of KC's 2024 season.

Following those core four, Chamarri Conner was next up, as the versatile defender took 36 snaps, still good for a hefty 68%. The most interesting part of KC's defensive back group comes at the next cornerback position, where Nazeeh Johnson appears to be the No. 3 choice. Johnson recorded 20 defensive snaps (38%) on Monday. Joshua Williams was shut out again defensively, while Chris Roland-Wallace got a single defensive snap. It's too soon to say definitively that Williams has fallen to CB No. 5, but after opening training camp as the top healthy contender to be KC's No. 2 corner, it has been an unfortunate fall for Williams in recent months.

Read More: Winners and Losers from Chiefs' Week 5 Victory Over New Orleans Saints