Chasing Tyreek Hill's Ghost Has Given the KC Chiefs WR Nightmares

While Tyreek Hill is no longer part of the Chiefs, his influence has a lingering negative effect on the organization's evaluation process of wide receivers.

Yet another week, yet another Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver debacle. Luckily, this past week’s edition didn’t cost Kansas City the win. The frustration with the room is starting to boil over visibly, but the Chiefs don’t have a choice but to continue trotting out the underperforming personnel. This evaluation failure goes back to the greatest wide receiver in franchise history.

Many have talked about how Kansas City missed Tyreek Hill, and that’s the reason for the current struggles on offense. However, those folks look past that the Chiefs were the No. 1 scoring offense and won the Super Bowl the season after trading him to Miami. Instead of missing Hill being the direct reason for the recent struggles, the front office evaluators have continually tried to chase his ghost.

The current failure of the receiver group goes back to 2019, as crazy as that may sound. Hours before the 2019 NFL Draft, there were some question marks surrounding whether or how much Hill would be able to play in the fall due to an off-the-field situation. The limited time between that and the Chiefs being on the clock forced them to decide where to invest an early pick. When it came to their selection, they drafted Mecole Hardman in the second round. The idea at the time was that Hardman had elite vertical speed and was a dynamic returner.

Back then, many analysts and fans balked at the selection. Hardman was not a top 100 prospect for most, and the Chiefs selected him in the top 60. Other receivers like DK Metcalf and Terry McLaurin were viewed as better prospects. We may never know what happened during that period, however, it's easy to see the idea of Hardman being Hill “insurance” in case the situation went south. The speed was enthralling for the organization, as they were possibly going for that. Though Hardman was a productive player during his time in Kansas City, he never developed into a complete receiver to complement Hill or succeed him as the top option once he was moved.

The nightmare resumes after trading Hill. In the ensuing draft, again in the second round, the Chiefs selected a wideout. Out of college, the scouting report was that this player had the build of a thick slot who thrived on RPOs, particularly running slants. It was similar to what Andy Reid loved to run when Hill was in Kansas City. That selection was Skyy Moore. The Western Michigan product was supposed to bring that skill set to the offense and continue hurting opposing defenses on those plays.

Moore’s career in Kansas City has never gotten off the ground. He had flashes in his rookie season that excited people and was even an offseason star leading up to his sophomore campaign. However, with his regular season over due to a knee issue, he’ll end this year with lower production than his debut NFL season.

The final move that comes from the Chiefs chasing the ghost of Hill is trading for Kadarius Toney in the middle of last season. The twitchy change of direction and stop-start ability is mesmerizing. Toney was a first-round pick the year before he arrived in Kansas City so the talent was there, but he’s had a rough go at it this season. He’s never been able to develop into a true wide receiver and has quite frankly been a negative for the Chiefs this year. His mental errors have cost them at least two games this year.

Toney has always been more of an athlete than a football player, similar to Hill coming out of college. The difference was the Chiefs spent a fifth-round pick on Hill, which many folks consider to be a crapshoot that late in the draft. Kansas City gave up a third-and-change for Toney. The same goes for Hardman, who was a better athlete than receiver, and the Chiefs spent a second-rounder on him. The argument could be made for Moore, who showed more receiver skills in college but still had limited experience at the position and played at a lower-level school.

There has been an apparent infatuation with pursuing athletes and trying to develop them into wide receivers. While it worked out with Hill, he’s the fastest person on the planet and is built like a Mack truck. Nearly every receiver the Chiefs have invested in shared many traits with Hill, with the idea of replacing him in parts. That hasn’t worked out and has put Kansas City in a horrible spot with the receiver position. It’s time for the Chiefs to change their evaluation methods and focus on getting football players who are best at playing the wideout position instead of chasing the ghost of a once-in-a-lifetime player.

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