● Chiefs’ speed drives defenses; can 49ers stop Chiefs QB Mahomes?
■ The Kansas City Chiefs drive defenses mad with their speed at wide receiver. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill sympathizes with opposing defensive coordinators after playing against himself in ‘Madden NFL 20.’
The Kansas City Chiefs have taken the concept of video game speed to a different level this season. Just ask Tyreek Hill.
“Check this out,” the wide receiver said, flashing a big grin. “I played against us last night.”
He and Chris Jones booted up “Madden NFL 20” on Monday as they hung out at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura, where their team is staying ahead of Super Bowl 54.
Jones picked the Chiefs. Hill was stuck with the Seahawks and the unenviable task of trying to cover himself.
“I was so mad, man,” Hill said. “You can’t beat it because you’ve got Pat [Mahomes] — Pat can roll around in a circle and literally throw the ball 100 yards down the field, and then you’ve got 99 speed, 98 speed. It’s crazy, then you’ve got [Travis] Kelce catching every pass. I almost broke my controller last night.”
Opposing defensive coordinators and defensive backs have felt the same way for the past two seasons. Since Mahomes took over as Kansas City’s full-time starting quarterback ahead of last season, the Chiefs have turned into one of the most dynamic offenses in NFL history. Last season, Kansas City was the third-highest scoring team in NFL history and averaged 34.8 points per game, including the postseason. The Chiefs followed it up this season by averaging 30.4 points per game in the 16 games started by Mahomes.
The quarterback, who won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award last season, is the trigger man, of course, but his cache of weapons — and, particularly, their speed — is unparalleled. Kansas City general manager Brett Veach clearly has a type.
“It’s just great ability to bring the right guys in the facility,” Kelce said.
Three of the 20 fastest ballcarriers this year, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, were Chiefs. Mecole Hardman has two of the top 10 and fellow wide receiver Sammy Watkins, the elder statesman of the position group at just 26, checked in with the 19thfastest recorded play of the season.
Hardman ran a 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine last year before the Chiefs took him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Watkins ran his 40 in 4.43 at the NFL Combine in 2014. Hill ran his in 4.38 seconds at the Combine in 2016.
Hardman finished his rookie season with 26 catches for 538 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and his 20.7 yards per catch would have led the league if he had enough receptions to qualify. Watkins, who Hill said is actually the fastest on the team, caught 52 passes for 673 yards and three touchdowns. Hill returned from a four-game suspension to start the season to finish the regular season with 58 catches for 860 yards and lead the team with seven receiving touchdowns.
It’s exactly the same sort of team amateur general managers across the country — such as Hardman — tend to look for when playing video games.
“Definitely in ‘Madden’ if I’m drafting something, I’m trying to get all the speed,” Hardman said. “Speed kills and you can’t really teach it.”
They make up the perfect complement to Mahomes, whose prodigious arm makes him one of the best in league history at throwing the deep ball. They also work as a cohesive unit and the perfect counterpoint to the San Francisco 49ers’ speedy defense, which it will have to solve Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Hill didn’t know much about Hardman when the Chiefs drafted him 56th overall last season. The receiver didn’t even total 1,000 receiving yards in his three seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs, so Hill first started to learn about Hardman once he was in the fold for Kansas City.
He tried to instill in Hardman some of the wisdom he had gathered in his time as the league’s preeminent burner. Hill, who was born in Lauderhill, has tried to earn a reputation as more than just a speedster and he has, earning firstteam All-Pro nods in 2016 and 2018.
Ironically, the most important bit of teaching Hill had to share with Hardman is patience. With speed like Hardman’s, it’s easy to always think about taking the deep shot. Hill wants to make sure Hardman knows there’s more to the game than just running really fast in a straight line.
“You’ve just got to be patient in the game,” Hill said. “If you’ve got a through route and Pat don’t throw you the ball, you’ve got to understand that he’s got four dudes rushing him and he’s trying to go through his reads. And he may just go for his shallow cross for 2 yards. You’ve got to understand those moments.”
“He was able to learn from me, being another fast guy. I was like, ‘Dude, you’ve got to come in, you’ve got to put the work in each and every day. You’re fast, but fast ain’t going to cut it every day in the league.’ ”