Kansas City Chiefs: What Is More Important for Offense—No. 2 WR or No. 2 TE?

Since the offseason and following a season where Kansas City’s hapless receiving corp went the whole year without a touchdown grab, wide receiver was labeled as the principal necessity for the Chiefs.

Ever since Jeremy Maclin signed, it is obvious to everyone he will enter training camp and the season as the primary wideout. But it was universally known the Chiefs needed more help behind Maclin.

Back in January, both ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah projected the Chiefs taking former Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. Right now, Beckham is projected to be drafted in the second half of the first round or early in the second round.

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If the Chiefs want a wide receiver to line up opposite of Maclin in the first round with the 18th pick, Green-Beckham, Breshad Perriman and DeVante Parker are realistic candidates to land in Kansas City.

However, an impact player to serve as a No. 2 wide receiver might not be as important in Kansas City as we all seem to think. In fact, a No. 2 tight end could benefit the Chiefs more in Andy Reid’s style of offense.

Since Reid’s arrival and the acquisition of quarterback Alex Smith, we have seen the tight end position utilized a lot more than we did since Tony Gonzalez’s departure. 

Here are the top three tight ends and top five wide receivers for the Chiefs in each of the past two years under Reid’s guidance and with Smith under center:

Tight ends

Travis Kelce: 67 catches for 862 yards and five touchdowns

Anthony Fasano: 25 catches for 226 yards and four touchdowns

Demetrius Harris: three catches for 20 yards

Wide receivers

Dwayne Bowe: 60 catches for 754 yards

Albert Wilson: 16 catches for 260 yards

Donnie Avery: 15 catches for 176 yards

De’Anthony Thomas: 23 catches for 156 yards

Jason Avant: 13 catches for 152 yards

Tight ends

Sean McGrath: 26 catches for 302 yards and two touchdowns

Anthony Fasano: 23 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns

Kevin Brock: three catches for 36 yards

Wide receivers

Dwayne Bowe: 57 yards, 673 yards and five touchdowns

Donnie Avery: 40 catches for 596 yards and two touchdowns

Dexter McCluster: 53 catches for 511 yards and two touchdowns

A.J. Jenkins: eight catches for 130 yards

Junior Hemingway: 13 catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns

It is worth noting that in 2013, Anthony Fasano missed seven games and Travis Kelce missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury, forcing the Chiefs to use Sean McGrath and Kevin Brock. But McGrath was a serviceable tight end for the Chiefs that season.

In 2014, the Chiefs had far more success with their tight ends than they did with their receivers. Kelce led the team in every receiving category, while he and Fasano were in the top four on the team in receptions.

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During Smith’s brief tenure in Kansas City so far, he has kept the tight ends active in the passing game, especially in 2014, when the wide receivers became nonexistent.

Even before being traded to the Chiefs, Smith had success with San Francisco with 49ers tight end Vernon Davis. In 2009 and 2010, where Smith was the primary quarterback and got a second chance to redeem himself in San Francisco, Davis led the team in receiving yards, accumulating 900 yards or more each of the two seasons and collecting 20 touchdown grabs combined. Smith also kept No. 2 tight end Delanie Walker active as one of the top six pass-catchers on the team in 2009 and 2010.

A No. 2 wide receiver is still a position of need for the Chiefs. Whoever the No. 2 receiver is, they are expected to do well in Kansas City’s versatile offense. Opposing defenses have to worry about Maclin and Kelce, as well as the running backs, who Reid likes to use in the passing game.

With all of those players used in the passing game, it should create opportunities for the No. 2 receiver to get open at times while defenses spend most of their focus and energy covering Kelce and Maclin. And with Fasano gone and moving on to Tennessee, the Chiefs will need a tight end behind Kelce.

If the Chiefs draft a tight end early in the draft, it gives Smith another viable tool in his arsenal.

Former Minnesota Gopher Maxx Williams is the most coveted tight end in this year’s draft, as he is projected to go anywhere from the end of the first round to the early part of the second round.

The odds of the Chiefs addressing a tight end in the first round are extremely low, as general manager John Dorsey is likely to seek a center or right tackle or a cornerback.

Keep in mind, the Chiefs own 10 draft picks this year, including four in the top 100 picks. This allows the Chiefs to be flexible and find players who can start or rotate in consistently for players ahead of them in the depth chart and get plenty of playing time. Don’t be surprised if you see a tight end selected in the second round or with one of the two third-round picks.

Clive Walford (Miami, Florida), Jeff Heuerman (Ohio State), MyCole Pruitt (Southern Illinois) and Jesse James (Penn State) are expected to be taken in the first three rounds, as one of them will very likely end up with the Chiefs.

If the Chiefs go for a wide receiver in the first or second rounds, that means Reid is looking for more firepower on offense with the receiving corp. If Reid avoids that position early in the draft, then that means the No. 2 wide receiver, either Albert Wilson or Jason Avant, is already on the team.

Wilson was active in just one of the first five games before the team’s bye week in Week 6. Following the bye, Wilson caught one pass in Week 7 against the Chargers and Week 9 against the Jets. As the season progressed, Wilson provided some flashes and showcased his speed when he caught 12 passes for 209 yards in a three-game span late in the season.

For seven of his eight years in Philadelphia, Avant played for Reid. While he was never a dominant wideout, he was always the next most reliable receiver behind the starters. He reunited with Reid midway through the 2014 season in Kansas City and is expected to return in 2015 after re-signing with the team. With his familiarity, Avant can help Kansas City improve from its 29th-ranked passing game. 

Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com

Draft projections courtesy of CBSSports.com

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