Nobody is more aware of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ needs at the wide receiver position than the team itself, namely quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs’ offense has looked different absent deep threat Tyquan Thornton who dislocated his ankle against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4. Kansas City came back and won its following game, but the team is 0-2 since then including a three-point effort against the Seahawks in Seattle.
Things were better in Denver last weekend, as Mahomes threw for more than 300 yards and three scores. But it took him 30 completions on 41 attempts to achieve those numbers, as his air yards per pass attempt and the yards-after-catch statistics indicate the two-time MVP has to dink and dunk far more often than he can push the football down the field and create the kind of explosive chunk plays that are so crucial to victories in the contemporary NFL.
Mahomes spoke with media members on Wednesday, November 4, during which he talked about the team’s need to re-establish the intermediate and deep pass game. However, the QB also sent the Chiefs a message about the personnel additions needed to make that happen, with Thornton out until likely near the end of the regular season, or potentially even the start of the playoffs.
“Obviously, you miss Tyquan’s speed and how he’s able to track the ball downfield. … Some of the downfield stuff is more about the teams that we’ve faced,” Mahomes said, per Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. “Obviously, we’ve got to get back to that.”
Trading for Brian Thomas Jr. Will Not Be Simple for Chiefs
The Chiefs could use a couple different types of pass-catcher to increase its viability through the air, but if speed and an over-the-top threat is the biggest priority and could make the greatest difference, which feels correct, then the options are more limited.
Free agent Tyreek Hill remains a potential solution, and one without a clock, because Kansas City doesn’t need to execute a trade to acquire him. However, Hill’s health and off-field legal concerns involving domestic issues with his estranged wife are both considerable concerns.
As far as a trade goes, Brian Thomas Jr. of the Jacksonville Jaguars is an outside receiver with higher-end speed who might be able to provide the Chiefs with exactly what they need. The problems are that the former first-round pick, who tallied nearly 1,300 yards as a rookie in 2024, has fallen off since and is barely in the Jags’ rotation at this point.
Thus, whether he can actually return to something like his previous form is a meaningful question. And that question leads to a second issue: that Thomas’s age, contract and rookie-year production probably mean Kansas City will have to pay a premium for his services. A second-round pick, or even a third-rounder, is a serious bet to make on a guy with 10 catches for 117 yards and two scores in seven appearances this season at the age of just 24.
Josh Downs Not Perfect Fit for What Chiefs Need at Wide Receiver
That Jacksonville has the same record as Kansas City (5-2) and certainly recognizes the Chiefs as among the top competitors in the AFC makes a big deal like one for Thomas all the less likely.
A less expensive, less risky play with less upside might be Kansas City flipping a fourth-round asset, or thereabouts, to the Indianapolis Colts for Josh Downs. He has asked out of Indy in the final year of his rookie contract.
Downs has some of what the Chiefs are looking for, though he is an undersized player at five-foot, nine-inches tall and 170 pounds who plays primarily in the slot. While Downs would prove a valuable upgrade to Kansas City’s offense, he is not the over-the-top threat that Thornton was when healthy.
Patrick Mahomes Sends Chiefs Clear Message on WR Trade