Chiefs Offense Is Full of Fantasy Football Options with Good Value

The Kansas City Chiefs no longer have a Big Three in terms of fantasy football contributors. However, with the departure of wideout Tyreek Hill, managers can find good middle-to-late-round value in this offense for the 2022 season.

In 2020 and 2021, Hill commanded 135-plus targets, so obviously, his absence means a lot more targets to go around for other Chiefs pass-catchers. When it comes to player production, fantasy managers prefer certainty, but they also salivate over opportunities for new or rising assets.

Though quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce will continue to be a top fantasy stack (a quarterback-pass-catcher tandem), Kansas City has several new faces who can put up numbers in this aerial attack. Managers may still see these newcomers on the board after the seventh round. Don't pass on them at that point in your drafts.

Since Mahomes took over the full-time starting job in 2018, the Chiefs have finished top-six in passing yards and touchdowns every year. In three of those seasons, Kansas City has ranked in the top nine in pass attempts. Meanwhile, the team's rushing offense hasn't ranked higher than 16th in total carries or yards with Mahomes as the primary starter.

Head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy justifiably have pass-heavy play-calling tendencies with one of the league's best signal-callers at the helm. That isn't likely to change even with the departure of Hill. Other pass-catchers cannot replicate the dynamic All-Pro receiver's skill set, but a committee of playmakers will fill his void.

In Saturday's preseason game against the Chicago Bears, Mahomes completed six of seven pass attempts for 60 yards and a touchdown, connecting with different pass-catchers on each completion, which provides a glimpse of how he'll run the passing attack during the upcoming campaign.

After the 19-14 loss to Chicago, Mahomes spoke about his intended ball distribution with reporters:

Mahomes will tap into his inner point guard, but who's going to benefit most behind Kelce?

Let's start with JuJu Smith-Schuster, whom the Chiefs signed in March. Known for his TikTok dances, the wideout's public persona has somewhat overshadowed what he can do on the field.

Smith-Schuster's receiving numbers dipped after his 2018 Pro Bowl year (111 receptions for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns) while he played with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who had been on the decline leading up to his retirement in January. The 25-year-old wideout also missed 12 games last year.

Now healthy, with a quarterback early in his prime, Smith-Schuster may rediscover his Pro Bowl form as the best wide receiver on the Chiefs roster. He has an 8.05 average draft position (ADP), which is great value for a lead wideout in a pass-heavy offense.

Against the Bears on the first drive, Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (12.08 ADP) played the most snaps, per Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, which is an indicator of the pecking order at wide receiver:

For fantasy managers concerned about Smith-Schuster's underwhelming production as the No. 1 wide receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers following Antonio Brown's departure to the then-Oakland Raiders in the 2019 offseason, he could benefit from heavy coverage on arguably the league's best pass-catching tight end in Kelce.

Kansas City also signed Valdes-Scantling in March. He'll likely provide big plays over the top. In four seasons with the Green Bay Packers, the 6'4", 206-pounder averaged 17.5 yards per reception and led the league in that category for the 2020 campaign (20.9 yards per catch).

Yes, Valdes-Scantling has experienced some drop issues, which also came up during training camp, per ESPN's Adam Teicher, but he's a boom-or-bust target for managers who want a high-ceiling player in a flex spot.

Because of Valdes-Scantling's ability to stretch the field, he doesn't need five-plus catches to make a significant fantasy impact. The fifth-year pro can easily post a stat line of three catches for 100 yards and a touchdown against a vulnerable pass defense.

With that said, Valdes-Scantling seems like the probable No. 2 wide receiver on the depth chart, which means he could see a steady volume of targets in a Mahomes-reliant offense.

Valdes-Scantling's snap count in Saturday's game raises questions about Mecole Hardman, a roster holdover with three years of experience as Mahomes' teammate.

The Athletic's Nate Taylor (via KC Sports Network with BJ Kissell at 8:55), acknowledged that the Chiefs surprised him when they didn't list Hardman as one of the top two wide receivers on the preseason depth chart (for whatever it's worth).

Taylor's observation, coupled with Saturday's wide receiver snap counts, is reason enough to tentatively bump up Valdes-Scantling in your draft queue, but managers shouldn't write off Hardman just yet. Remember, he knows the offense, has 4.33 speed and averaged 20.7 yards per reception as a rookie.

Also, Taylor noted Hardman improved his intermediate route-running this offseason. If Valdes-Scantling struggles with inconsistency, the former could jump into the No. 2 wide receiver spot. Hardman has extra motivation in a contract year, too.

If you're on the hunt for a rookie sleeper at wideout, listen to NBC Sports' Peter King because he spoke directly to the fantasy football folks when he put the spotlight on Skyy Moore (11.10 ADP) after his time at Chiefs camp:

If King is right, Moore has the most upside among the Chiefs wide receivers. Moreover, following a breakout as a redshirt sophomore at Western Michigan with 96 receptions for 1,293 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021, he has some momentum coming into the pro ranks. Against the Bears, the rookie second-rounder caught all three of his targets for 23 yards.

We can make the argument that none of the Chiefs' top four wideouts should go undrafted.

On the flip side, managers should stay away from Josh Gordon despite the widespread familiarity with his name. In his segment on KC Sports Network (at 5:53), Taylor said it's "not looking optimistic" for the 31-year-old receiver.

Justin Watson will go undrafted in most leagues, but King believes we should keep an eye on him, and perhaps he's right. Against the Bears, the 6'2", 215-pounder recorded five receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown with a highlight moment:

Chiefs running backs may not excite fantasy managers as much as their wide receivers, but you can find good value in the club's backfield as well.

Like Smith-Schuster in the receiver room, Clyde Edwards-Helaire seems like the safest option among the running backs. He's the probable starter who will likely take most of the snaps at the position. The 2020 first-rounder could see an increased role in the short passing game with more targets available. He’s caught 55 passes for 426 yards and three touchdowns in 23 career outings.

As the Chiefs' lead running back and a three-down playmaker, Edwards-Helaire has decent value with a 5.06 ADP. After him, the Chiefs depth chart gets muddy.

Ronald Jones (9.07 ADP) could open the season as Kansas City's No. 2 back, but Taylor doesn't think the fifth-year veteran is a lock to make the roster, and the team may trade him (starts at 5:01).

In his Week 1 preseason takeaways, Taylor wrote about Jones' missteps on the field.

"Ronald Jones entered camp as the projected second running back, but he finished Saturday’s game with only 1 rushing yard on four attempts, as he didn’t break a single tackle and didn’t display a burst through the line of scrimmage. In pass protection, Jones missed a block on defensive end Dominique Robinson, who sacked Buechele for a 12-yard loss."

With Jones possibly on shaky ground, managers should take a flier on rookie seventh-rounder Isiah Pacheco (13.09 ADP), who's looked impressive at camp.

According to NFL Network's James Palmer, Pacheco has exceeded early expectations, and The MMQB's Albert Breer compared the rookie to Kareem Hunt with more burst.

In his preseason debut, Pacheco logged two carries for six yards and caught a pass for five yards, which doesn't seem like much, but Reid seemed pleased with his performance.

"I thought he ran hard and played fast," Reid told reporters. "He didn't look like he shied down from anything. Pretty accurate with the things that he did, so I thought he did a nice job."

Notably, Pacheco took the field after Edwards-Helaire over Jones.

Fantasy managers in point-per-reception leagues should also consider Jerick McKinnon (14.03 ADP) late in drafts. He's primarily a pass-catching running back with 188 career catches for 1,344 yards and seven touchdowns, but he had a strong showing in all three of the Chiefs' playoff games in the prior campaign.

As a starter in each of those outings, McKinnon amassed 315 yards and a touchdown from scrimmage. In two of those contests, he played with the first unit over Edwards-Helaire, who was coming off a shoulder injury.

For late fantasy drafters out there, if Jones doesn't make the final roster, get familiar with Pacheco or pick up McKinnon because of his veteran experience. Edwards-Helaire has missed 10 games in two regular seasons. The Chiefs may need to call on their No. 2 back to contribute in a big way at some point this year.

Fantasy managers may miss what Hill brought to the points column during his time in Kansas City, but don't abandon the team's skill-position players. With several additions at running back and wide receiver, you could land a couple of hidden gems in the middle or late rounds of the draft.

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Fantasy football average draft position (ADP) provided by FantasyFootballCalculator.com.

College football statistics provided by cfbstats.com.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.