Chiefs Sign WR Richie James After 'Breakout Season'

The Chiefs have added a new wide receiver who made an impact with the New York Giants, but it's not Odell Beckham Jr.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a move at wide receiver late in free agency, agreeing to terms with former New York Giants wide receiver Richie James, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

James, a seventh-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2018 NFL Draft, played three years with the 49ers and spent 2021 on injured reserve before posting career-best stats with the Giants in 2022. James, 27, is listed at 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds and played college ball at Middle Tennessee State.

The #Chiefs have agreed to terms with WR Richie James, source says. After a breakout season with the #Giants (57 catches for 569 yards and 4 TDs), James becomes a target for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 7, 2023

Stephen Lebitsch of FanNation's Giants Country wrote about James ahead of free agency, noting that James "had the best year of his career with the Giants."

Richie James’ debut with the New York Giants got off to a fairly active start before tapering off towards the middle of the season to the displeasure of many in the MetLife Stadium bleachers.

In the Giants’ first two games of the year against Tennessee and Carolina, James caught a combined 11 receptions for 110 yards and an average of 11 yards per catch, stat lines that finished second or better on the team’s postgame receiving leaderboard. Yet, in the following six contests, he notched just ten receptions for 81 yards and stills held zero touchdowns as the Giants’ desperately searched for answers to supplement the rushing attack on offense.

To make matters worse, James nearly became public enemy No. 1 in the Big Apple when the issue of turnovers entered into his struggles. During the six-game stretch of inadequate production, the 27-year-old muffed three balls in two games against Chicago and Seattle and lost all of them, with the miscues helping the Seahawks defeat New York and send them off on a 1-4-1 stretch to come.

Luckily for James, his production would kick back into gear at just the right time as the Giants were chasing their first playoff berth in six years down the stretch of the season. Playing in seven of the final eight games before the postseason, he accumulated 37 receptions for 378 yards and four touchdowns.

His best performance came in Week 16 against the Vikings, where he had eight catches for 90 yards (11.3 average) to lead all Giants’ pass catchers, and he followed that up with another seven receptions for 76 yards (10.9 average) and a touchdown in the Week 17 win over the Colts.

Richie James

Quality return man with experience with punt and kickoff returns. Had a *breakout* year in 2022 mostly working underneath out of the slot.

Not a ton of YAC production or vertical opportunities. Interesting WR addition but quality STa addition.

— Matt Lane (@Matty_KCSN) April 7, 2023

James joins a Chiefs wide receiver depth chart with Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Justyn Ross, Cornell Powell, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, John Ross, Jerrion Ealy and Ty Fryfogle.