Insider Details Why Patrick Mahomes Remains Confident in KC Chiefs’ Receivers

Despite some continued struggles from his receivers, Patrick Mahomes isn't losing confidence in the group's ability to turn things around.

The Kansas City Chiefs' offense has been shut out from scoring in the second half of three consecutive games. That level of failure from an Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes-led offense is relatively unheard of, but it also encapsulates the 2023 season thus far. While Steve Spagnuolo's defense has carried the team, the offense is still dragging behind. A good chunk of the blame falls on the current wide receiver group.

Coming after the team's bye, a Week 11 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles was a perfect time for Kansas City to show that things were different. Instead, the wideouts once again put their true colors on display. Perhaps the biggest example of that was Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The veteran not only failed to log a single catch despite being targeted three times, but his late-game drop essentially sealed the Chiefs' fate in a four-point loss.

Entering play on Friday, the Chiefs had six more drops than any other team in the NFL. Their 26 dropped passes and drop percentage of 7.1 (per ESPN tracking) are both alarming, with most being a direct reflection of the wide receiver room. Kansas City continues to portray confidence in its current group, and that isn't changing now. 

On the day of the Chiefs' Week 12 game versus the Las Vegas Raiders, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on NFL GameDay that Mahomes still thinks his receivers can and will turn things around. Here's more: 

"That said, Patrick Mahomes has still been confident publicly and privately, working with these receivers [and] trying to get them in the right spots. They've been on the JUGS machine. But here, guys, is why he is confident. My understanding is a lot of these drops are because the receivers are two or maybe three feet off where they should be. Mahomes throws it where it needs to be, they aren't there yet. This is improving in practice. This is why he has confidence and they believe it will eventually translate — potentially today — to the game field." 

The proposed process-related issues fall in line with the wide receivers' tape this year. Kansas City's coaching staff has brought up the JUGS machine as something pass catchers can go to before and after practice, also describing individual work that can be done with Mahomes between phases of practice or during the aforementioned timeframes. Additionally, it's been very apparent this season that Mahomes's idea of a route and some of his wideouts' ideas are occasionally two separate things. Whether that means breaking off at a certain point, getting shallow or gaining more depth, each has been problematic.

With the calendar soon set to turn over to December, it's becoming increasingly difficult to believe that serious improvement will occur at the receiver position. With that said, simply regressing to the mean with drops and making a few more timely plays (or a few less untimely mistakes) could prove to be the difference. Outside of the Chiefs' Week 8 defeat at the hands of the Denver Broncos, the team has had a legitimate chance in the end despite the self-inflicted mistakes. As Mahomes and the coaching staff exercise patience, it's time for results to translate on the field. 

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