With just over a week to go until the 2025 NFL Draft, we have seen details leak about various players scheduling meetings with the Kansas City Chiefs.

One position that has been curiously light for rumored Chiefs draft interest has been wide receiver. After using a first or second round selection at wideout each of the last three drafts, Kansas City has not been reported to have hosted any of this year’s top pass catchers.

A scattering of potential Day Three wide receiver selections have been linked to the Chiefs. This includes Maryland’s Tai Felton, who had a recent virtual visit with the Chiefs per Justin Melo of The Draft Network.

Let’s look at what the Chiefs may be seeing in Felton.

Background

Felton came to Maryland in 2021 as a three-star recruit out of Ashburn, Virginia. His early college career was impacted by recovery from a torn ACL in high school. After seeing his role increase for his first three seasons in College Park, Felton exploded in 2024 with 96 receptions for 1124 yards and nine touchdowns.

He was not used as a returner at Maryland, but Felton did record 11 special teams tackles in college.

Felton attended the Senior Bowl and was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. He was a big winner in Indianapolis, with an outstanding 4.38-second 40-yard dash time. His recorded height was 6’1” and he weighed 183 lbs. He paired an elite 39.5-inch vertical jump with his eye-popping speed numbers.

Film evaluation

Felton’s speed shows on film, no matter how short the distance he ultimately runs. His burst upon actually getting the ball in his hands should have him on draft boards, and he also takes care of the ball through some significant full-speed collisions with defenders.

Although the ball is ultimately dumped off in this clip, Felton is a fun player to watch off the line of scrimmage when he takes off at full speed. Most prospects who catch the Chiefs’ eye show frequent pre-snap motion. Felton is almost always lined up wide or in the slot, but his speed with a running start would be intriguing.

During routes, Felton does change direction really well, creating good pockets to gain space against opposing cornerbacks. Head coach Andy Reid’s offense will always value separation and yards after the catch over contested ball ability. Felton’s ability to get open (and sometimes fool defenders, as in the second clip against Penn State) will be appealing. However, His slender frame may make him more susceptible to being knocked off his routes as a pro.

Short routes through the middle are Felton’s biggest strength. On this touchdown against USC, he runs a ten-yard route without the secondary realizing he is there before getting pushed into the end zone. Even without being pushed, he almost always falls forward to gain an additional yard or two.

The 4-8 Terrapins did not have many opportunities to win games, but Felton shines on off-script plays. He highpoints a short pass in a two-minute drill as Maryland comes back to defeat USC. He catches the ball so late into the play that he has no business turning the pass into a 13-yard gain, but he quickly identifies the weakest lane in the defense and attacks at full speed.

Unfortunately, Felton’s small frame will prevent him from ever being mistaken for Rashee Rice with the ball in his hand. His plays almost always at least gain moderate positive yardage, but his speed can only help so much when facing multiple heavier defenders.

His slender 183-pound girth also negates Felton’s effectiveness as a blocker, one of the best paths to crack an active roster as a reserve wide receiver. Felton is willing to take on defenders downfield and quickly gets himself in the right place. But his size limitations show. Sometimes, as in these two clips, those limitations prove costly.

A potential NFL team must be convinced that their coaching can improve Felton’s blocking to justify using a mid to late round selection on him.

The bottom line

Whatever their intentions at wide receiver on draft weekend, the Chiefs seem intent on adding speed to the room following the free agency departures of Justin Watson and Mecole Hardman. Of wideouts reported to have meetings or visits with Kansas City, the slowest 40 time has been 4.44 seconds (Sam Brown Jr. of Miami).

Felton definitely has the wheels the Chiefs covet, though he is a harder projection than other receivers because his college offense lacks much of the motion and designed touches common to Reid’s schemes.

His coverage ability on special teams would give him a path to the roster, though there are cleaner fits on offense. Assuming Reid’s staff believes his blocking can improve, it would not be surprising to see Felton sent to Kansas City on the draft’s third day.