Pass it to the stars or spread the wealth? KC Chiefs have done both in opening weeks
Fantasy football owners with Chiefs receivers on their rosters must be a bit confused after two weeks of this NFL football season.
Preseason narratives indicated quarterback Patrick Mahomes would be diversifying his targets this fall. With Sammy Watkins signed by the Baltimore Ravens, who defeated the Chiefs Sunday, which receiver would fill the No. 2 role alongside Tyreek Hill?
The Chiefs also kept four tight ends on their initial 53-man roster. Surely that would mean spreading the wealth beyond established star Travis Kelce. And with an upgraded offensive line, the running game would be more productive, portending perhaps fewer targets for everyone, right?
But the season opener against Cleveland played the Chiefs’ greatest hits. Hill and Kelce combined for 22 of 34 targets, 17 of 27 receptions, 273 of 337 yards and all three of the Chiefs’ touchdown catches.
After that, it seemed like sound logic to trust those two All-Pros would rack up stats against the Ravens next. Only, it didn’t quite work out that way.
The Ravens’ doubled Hill through most of Sunday night’s game, limiting the speedster to three receptions for 14 yards. Three other Chiefs wide receivers — Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle — combined for 10 catches. Robinson and Pringle recorded their first touchdown receptions of the season.
Kelce? He was big, with a highlight-reel 46-yard touchdown catch-and-run as part of his 109-yard receiving total Sunday. But backup tight end Blake Bell had a nice 20-yard catch, and fellow backup tight end Jody Fortson, running back Jerick McKinnon and fullback Michael Burton all registered receptions, too.
On a day when the Chiefs got contributions from so many on offense, they couldn’t protect an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.
That’s why Pringle couldn’t be satisfied.
“I don’t feel good,” Pringle said when asked about the third receiving touchdown of his three-year NFL career. “We didn’t get the ‘W.’”
But the Chiefs’ passing offense, second in the NFL with 667 yards and third with six touchdowns entering Sunday’s noon home game against the L.A. Chargers, has certainly displayed multiple weapons.
In previous years, it wasn’t unusual for a player not named Hill or Kelce to have a big day — Watkins at Jacksonville in 2019, Robinson at the Raiders the next week. But having multiple threats at Baltimore demonstrated the potency of the Chiefs’ attack.
“I’ve always been confident in those guys,” Mahomes said. “I see the work they put in. I see the talent that they have. Obviously we have these great talents with Travis and Tyreek — all-time talents — so we get them the ball and let them make plays. But we have guys all across the board that can make plays.
“It’s about getting them the ball in space and letting them go.”
Pringle’s touchdown reception came from an empty formation. Lining up on the right, inside running back Darrel Williams — who was split out wide — Pringle broke free immediately in the middle of the field. Mahomes launched the ball his way quickly and Pringle had time to turn and gain more yardage.
He broke to the left sideline, accelerated past three Ravens defenders and followed some interference created by Hill into the end zone for a 40-yard score.
“When Pat threw me the ball, I just turned up vertical,” Pringle said.
Also key on the play: Hill and Kelce were lined up on the left side, commanding plenty of the Ravens’ attention.
“It puts defenses in binds,” Mahomes said of the Chiefs’ wealth of capable hands. “Obviously they want to take away Travis and Tyreek as much as possible. ... (W)hen you have other guys that can make plays happen, it puts them in kind of a predicament.”
Kind of like fantasy football players now trying to decide which Chiefs target might come up big this weekend against the Chargers.