Kansas City Chiefs’ Wide Receiver Corps Should Be Even Better This Season

Most thought the Kansas City Chiefs would be fortunate to have either wide receiver Demarcus Robinson or wide receiver Sammy Watkins on their roster this season.

Instead, both are returning to the defending Super Bowl champions, meaning the Chiefs will retain their four leading wide receivers: Tyreek Hill, Watkins, Mecole Hardman and Robinson.

That gives them one of the fastest fleet of receivers in the NFL and one that perfectly complements Patrick Mahomes’ cannon of an arm.

When Watkins signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Chiefs in 2018 — after Brett Veach and Andy Reid’s pitched him that he would win championships in Kansas City — his contract was structured in a way that put a 2020 season with the Chiefs in doubt.

He was due to make $14 million in 2020, but none of it was guaranteed, and the Chiefs would have only taken a $7 million salary cap hit if he was released.  

Instead the Chiefs reached an agreement with Watkins on a new one-year deal with a base salary of $9 million for 2020. It features incentives that could reach $16 million and reportedly a no-trade clause.

“We sure like Sammy,” Reid said. “He’s done a great job for us. And as good a player as he is, he’s even a better person. We’ve really enjoyed him being here.”

The Chiefs also get to enjoy having Robinson for another season. His four-year, $2.857 million deal had expired, and most figured he would be coveted on the open market, considering his age (25) and that he was coming off career highs in catches (32) and yards (449).

Instead he agreed to an affordable, one-year $2.3 million deal to be back in Kansas City in 2020.

Robinson’s best game came in Week Two of the 2019 season. With Hill sidelined with a shoulder injury, Robinson more than adeptly replaced him as a deep threat, catching six passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns as part of a 28-point, second-quarter barrage against the Oakland Raiders. 

That was one of four games Hill missed in 2019, and Mahomes and Watkins both missed two games each.

It’s hard to envision the passing game suffering so many injuries again, and a healthier Chiefs passing offense is a scary proposition for the rest of the league.

Watkins, however, had been criticized for a lack of durability, having missed 17 games the last four seasons — and six during his two seasons with the Chiefs — and not living up the lucrative contract he signed with Kansas City. He was particularly bothered by foot injuries.

“Having these injuries back to back,” he said, “I faced a lot of trials and tribulations.”

But Watkins was healthy and at his best in the postseason, catching five passes for 98 yards in Super Bowl LIV and seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in the AFC Championship Game.

His biggest play came with 3:44 left in the Super Bowl and the Chiefs down 20-17.

Having studied film of the route Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams beat cornerback Richard Sherman on during the NFC Championship Game, he used a stutter step to smoke the San Francisco 49ers’ star cornerback, who was lined up in man-to-man coverage, for a 38-yard gain.

Three plays later the Chiefs scored a touchdown to take a lead they would not relinquish, and Watkins and the Chiefs became Super Bowl LIV champions.

Restructuring Watkins’ contract not only means the valuable receiver stays in K.C., but it also opened much-needed $5 million in cap room for the Chiefs to operate this offseason. They reportedly were down to a mere $171 in cap space and still had to sign draft picks.

With that added money and Watkins and Robinson back in the fold again, the Chiefs look to have a great chance to repeat as champions — even with the rest of the league gunning for them.

It’s something the team has embraced.

“We’re all proud of the accomplishment that took place this past year,” Reid said. “But we also know that we’ve got to get ready for the challenge of this coming season. We’re fired up about that.”