Kansas City added Brown hoping he would be ready to play his former team, but the rest of the room has them confident.
The Kansas City Chiefs were rather intentional about improving their wide receiver room this past offseason, signing free agent Hollywood Brown and using a first-round selection on Texas receiver Xavier Worthy.
As is well known now, the Chiefs won’t have Brown in their season-opener on Thursday night after he suffered a sternoclavicular injury in Preseason Week 1. His timeline dictates a return in Week 2 or Week 3.
For the first few weeks of training camp, the Chiefs built their offense believing Brown would be available from the beginning of the season forward. But in the last month, the team has had to pivot.
“You have to adjust a little bit,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters on Sunday, “just because he’s such a vital part of our offense. He’s someone that can do a lot of different stuff; he could play a lot of different positions. But I think what coach [Andy] Reid and [Brett] Veach did this year was they brought in a lot of competition in that room. Guys have stepped up and taken over some of his role.
“It’s not going to be just one guy. It’s going to be multiple guys that get in there and do the things that he does this week, and then the hope is that you have him back the next week.”
Early on in training camp, it became clear that the starting receivers in 11-personnel (three wideouts) would be Brown, Worthy and Rashee Rice — and when Brown went down, the first name mentioned by offensive coordinator Matt Nagy was veteran Justin Watson.
Watson came to the Chiefs in the runup to the 2022 season. Since then, the coaching staff has learned he is a reliable player.
“Justin’s always been a big part of it — silently,” said Reid at the podium Sunday. “He doesn’t say much, and he doesn’t get a lot of [publicity]. He’s always been a pretty big part of what we do. That part won’t change. He’ll be in there running around. And even when Hollywood comes back, he’ll be in there running around. He’s a smart kid that’s skilled and loves to play the game. [He] plays hard every snap [in] practice [and] games.”
Beyond Watson, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore could see a few snaps — but their impact is more likely to be on special teams. On Kansas City’s initial 53-player depth chart, both Hardman and Moore were listed among the returners.
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub came into camp hoping Worthy may be the starting punt returner — but now, with Brown unavailable, it’s likely to be Hardman. It would not be surprising to see Moore and fullback Carson Steele as the two kick returners.
Worthy should make his season debut with his focus solely on offensive impact.
“[Worthy] spends a lot of time with Pat, and the other receivers, the veteran guys just figuring out what Pat’s expecting,” said Reid of Worthy on Monday. “He’s not afraid to ask — and then he’s been willing to try everything. Whether it’s an inside route, one of those intermediate routes or long routes, he’s been very willing to get in there and mix it up. I like what I’ve seen. Like any rookie that’s coming into this thing, you want to see how they do in the games, but you’d think he’d probably do OK.”
On Sunday in the locker room, Worthy sounded like a player prepared for the moment.
“I feel like I got real comfortable just understanding the system, the nuances of the system knowing why they’re doing things,” said Worthy. “I just feel like I’m ready.”
To perhaps ease any final wide receiver uncertainty, Kansas City decided to bring back a familiar face last week: JuJu Smith-Schuster. After dealing with knee issues the past few seasons, the Chiefs say he is now healthy — and has been a breath of fresh air for the quarterback.
“It’s super exciting [having Smith-Schuster] back,” Mahomes said on Sunday. “Just the person, man. Being in the locker room, being in the meeting rooms? He gets it, man. He gets how to be a pro. And then he works hard. He’s out here; he looks great.
“I’m excited for him just to continue to learn the little things that we changed in the year that he wasn’t there (2023), but he’s picked up a lot of the stuff really fast, and it’s good to have that type of guy in that receiver room.”
While this is obvious, it is still worth saying: Kansas City would love for Brown to be available to play his former team on Thursday night. But in the days since his injury, the team has established an air of confidence without him.
