Getty Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney.
Despite rumors of the Kansas City Chiefs believing that Kadarius Toney can be their No. 1 wide receiver, Toney has only played 23% of the team’s total offensive snaps through nine games and has recorded 20 receptions on 28 targets for 127 yards and 1 touchdown.
When asked about Toney’s limited usage during the first half of the regular season, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid revealed the reasoning behind it.
“We’ll just keep coming with him,” Reid said during his November 13 press conference. “I just want to remind everybody that he did have the knee surgery, so we’re taking it easy with him up to this point. Just making sure he can make it through the year in good health.”
Chiefs Are Waiting to Unleash Kadarius Toney
Kadarius Toney, 24, suffered a partial meniscus tear on Day 1 of training camp, which sidelined him for the entirety of the preseason. Though it has been several months since he underwent surgery, Andy Reid’s comments tell us that the team is being as cautious as possible with their young playmaker with the hopes of having him fully healthy for a postseason run in early 2024.
With this strategy in mind, it comes as no surprise that Toney had three of his lowest snap counts of the season after Kansas City traded with the New York Jets to acquire wide receiver Mecole Hardman on October 18. Hardman is a gadget player who can make plays with his speed and elusiveness when given space, similar to Toney.
“Listen, he played seven plays last week,” Reid said of Toney’s outing against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. “We can play him more than that and still be okay. And then we just keep an eye on his leg and make sure that we’re repping that out the right way and let him keep progressing as we go here throughout the year. That’s the important part.”
Kansas City’s cautious usage of Toney comes during a season in which the Chiefs’ offense is struggling to find consistency. Outside of tight end Travis Kelce, the team’s leading receivers are rookie second-round pick Rashee Rice (32-378-4) and Justin Watson (25-276). According to Sports Network, the defending Super Bowl champions lead the league in dropped passes with 18, which is the clearest sign of how inept the Chiefs’ pass catchers have been this season.
Despite all of this, quarterback Patrick Mahomes is fifth in the league in passing yards (2,442), tied for third in touchdown passes (17), and is completing a career-high 68.6% of his passes, according to Pro Football Reference.
There’s no doubt that Mahomes can elevate the play around him. But unless his pass catchers can step up in a major way during the second half of the season, even with an elite defense the Chiefs aren’t strong enough on both sides of the football to win back-to-back championships.
Chiefs Schedule & AFC Standings
Let’s take a look at the remaining regular season schedule for the Chiefs:
- Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 12: @ Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 13: @ Green Bay Packers
- Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills
- Week 15: @ New England Patriots
- Week 16: vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 17: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 18: @ Los Angeles Chargers
Here are the current standings in the AFC. Keep in mind that seven teams from each conference make the playoffs:
- Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-3)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3)
- Miami Dolphins (6-3)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3)
- Cleveland Browns (6-3)
- Houston Texans (5-4)
- Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)
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