The Kansas City Chiefs definitely need to prioritize making things easier for quarterback Patrick Mahomes next season, because the two-time MVP cannot do it alone.
The Chiefs were incredibly short on weapons this past year, and while extenuating circumstances like injuries to Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown certainly played a role in that, Kansas City doesn’t currently have a ton of answers at wide receiver heading into 2025.
Rice’s status is up in the air due to pending legal issues and the fact that he is recovering from a torn ACL, and Brown is slated to hit free agency in a couple of weeks.
The Chiefs don’t have expansive cap room, so it will certainly be difficult for them to swing any genuinely impactful moves via free agency or trade.
As a result, Kansas City may have to rely almost exclusively on the NFL Draft to find Mahomes some help, and Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus has identified a very compelling weapon for the team to consider: Iowa State Cyclones wide out Jayden Higgins.
In a piece where Locker ran through each team’s ideal haul in the first three rounds of the draft, he had the Chiefs plucking Higgins in the second round.
“Beyond that, the Chiefs’ receiver room is in the midst of great uncertainty with DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown hitting the market,” Locker wrote. “Higgins’ fluidity and size would work nicely paired with Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice.”
Higgins stands 6-foot-4 and would represent a terrific red zone target for Mahomes, who absolutely was given the short end of the stick when it came to reliable playmakers in 2024.
This past season, Higgins hauled in 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns, establishing himself as one of the best receivers in the Big 12 and the country as a whole.
Last year, Kansas City stole Texas Longhorns standout Xavier Worthy in the first round of the draft, trading up with the Buffalo Bills in order to land him.
The Chiefs may have to pull some similar NFL Draft magic this April where they find an overlooked gem, and Higgins could be that guy.