Why the KC Chiefs? Marquez Valdes-Scantling says Tyreek Hill trade was ‘a huge factor’
Free-agent wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling had narrowed his choice of destinations to three: the Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, his former team.
He was still mulling his options when a rather large event occurred Wednesday during his visit in Kansas City.
With the trade of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, the decision came naturally.
“I think that with the departure of him, it gave me a really good opportunity to be in position to come in and be an immediate impact right away,” Valdes-Scantling said Friday during his introductory Chiefs news conference. “So,= I think that was a huge factor into it.”
A day after the Hill trade, the Chiefs signed Valdes-Scantling to a three-year deal worth up to $36 million. In so doing, they outmaneuvered the Saints, who reportedly offered the wide receiver a two-year deal.
At 6-foot-4, 206 pounds and boasting a 4.37 clocked time in the 40-yard dash, Valdes-Scantling provides the Chiefs’ offense both size and speed, which is needed with Hill gone.
The 27-year-old Valdes-Scantling puts his speed to good use by stretching the field, as evidenced by his head-turning 17.5 yards-per-catch career average.
Over the past four seasons with the Packers, Valdes-Scantling has appeared in 59 games with 39 starts, totaling 123 catches for 2,153 yards and 13 touchdowns on 247 targets. His best statistical season came in 2020, when he recorded 690 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 33 catches, with career bests of 20.9 yards per catch and a 52.4 catch percentage.
But the Chiefs’ newest receiver wants everyone to know he can do more than apply stress on a defense down the field.
“Obviously, I’ve been a top deep threat in the league for the four years in my career,” Valdes-Scantling said. “Those stats speak for themselves, but (I’m) also not limited to just that, at the end of the day.
“Coach (Andy) Reid does a really good job of getting his playmakers the ball. I think with having Pat (Mahomes) under center and Coach Reid calling those plays, I think I fit right in.”
The Chiefs will depend on Valdes-Scantling sooner than later because of turnover on their roster during free agency, especially at the wide receiver position. Along with Hill, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson have departed for jobs elsewhere in the past week and a half.
Holdover Mecole Hardman, Valdes-Scantling and fellow newcomer JuJu Smith-Schuster — who signed a one-year free-agent contract here last week — now project as the Chiefs’ top three wideouts for Mahomes.
Valdes-Scantling is confident his transition from a Packers team led by reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to a Chiefs squad quarterbacked by Mahomes — one potent offense to another — will be a smooth one.
“Just walking in this building with this opportunity, I think that I provide a spark,” Valdes-Scantling said. “And obviously being in the league four years playing with Aaron, I know what it looks like. And playing with (fellow receiver) Davante (Adams, formerly of the Packers and now with the Las Vegas Raiders), I learned so much from him.
“I think that my skill-set will speak for itself come Sundays.”
