New receivers helped Chiefs get to Super Bowl sans Hill
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Kansas City Chiefs lost one of the NFL’s most dynamic receivers when Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
The loss did nothing to slow them down.
Kansas City revamped its receiving group in the offseason and the new players quickly meshed with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, riding a high-scoring wave all the way to the Super Bowl.
“I’m proud of our guys for the job that they’ve done,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Tuesday. “We had a lot of new faces in there.”
Kansas City’s receiving crew was one of its biggest question marks heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Chiefs placed Mecole Hardman on injured reserve Monday after he reinjured his pelvis in the AFC Championship against Cincinnati. Kansas City also faced the possibility of not having two others after JuJu Smith-Schuster left the AFC title game with knee inflammation and Kadarius Toney sprained his ankle.
The good news: both were back at practice this week.
“They look good,” Reid said. “We’ll see how it goes the rest of the week.”
It went well most of the season.
All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce is still Mahomes’ go-to target, catching 100 passes for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns.
With Hill in Miami having an All-Pro season, the Chiefs’ new receivers — Hardman was the only returnee — have spread the field in an offense that led the NFL in scoring and total yards.
Smith-Schuster was Kansas City’s big offseason pickup, signing with the Chiefs after five prolific seasons in Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder is a strong possession receiver who isn’t afraid of catching passes over the middle. He has 78 catches for 933 yards and three touchdowns.