One of the more interesting position battles for the Chiefs will be determining who rounds out their wide receiver room. The position has been a weak point for Kansas City over the past two seasons, which has hindered their offensive production.

The issues in 2023 (despite the Super Bowl win) could be attributed to a lack of talent, as the likes of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, and Skyy Moore were thrust into significant roles. However, poor injury luck and inadequate depth were the primary causes last season.

Who will end up walking away with the Chiefs WR6 role heading into the 2025 season?

In the 2024 offseason, the Chiefs recognized receiver as a weak point, leading them to sign Hollywood Brown and draft Xavier Worthy in the first round. With those additions—along with the development of Rashee Rice—the hope was to regain explosiveness on offense after the grind in 2023.

Unfortunately, the vision of what the Chiefs wanted to be on offense never came to fruition. Brown suffered a clavicle injury on the first play of the preseason, and Rice tragically tore his ACL (due to some friendly fire from Mahomes) in Week 4 against the Chargers.

This forced Worthy into an accelerated role early on and put more responsibility on the plate of Travis Kelce. While the midseason trade for DeAndre Hopkins helped to some degree, the likes of Moore, Justin Watson, and Mecole Hardman still received meaningful playing time—exactly what the Chiefs had hoped to avoid by adding Brown and Worthy.

In addition to better health, the Chiefs should go into 2025 with more depth across the receiver room. Ideally, all six roster slots will be filled by players who can step in and keep the offense on track—something that was not the case in 2023 or 2024.

At this point, four receivers are locks to make the Week 1 roster: Rice, Worthy, Brown, and rookie Jalen Royals. Veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster also seems to be a safe bet for the fifth spot.

Smith-Schuster was the leading receiver on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning team in 2022, which also featured the league’s highest-scoring offense. After an underwhelming stint with the New England Patriots in 2023, he returned to Kansas City last season. While lower-body injuries have caused a decline in recent years, he remains a savvy vet with solid chemistry with Mahomes.

The biggest question mark among the receivers is who the sixth guy will be. While some fans may find this insignificant, the phrase “you’re only as strong as your weakest link” holds true here.

If Rice, Worthy, or Brown were to sustain an injury next season, the Chiefs need someone who can provide an adequate target for Mahomes and help minimize the impact of those absences. As it currently stands, there are four players I believe are in contention for that final WR spot on the 53-man roster.

Primary competitor #1: Nikko Remigio

Remigio may be the leader in the clubhouse for the WR6 competition. From a pure receiving standpoint, he has essentially proven nothing—he had just two receptions for six yards last season, both in the meaningless Week 18 game against Denver.

However, he has proven valuable as a returner, which could land him a roster spot. In 2024, Remigio returned 11 kicks for 295 yards, averaging 26.8 yards per return. He continued that success in the postseason, totaling 358 return yards across three games.

Notable plays included a 63-yard kickoff return in the divisional round and a 41-yard punt return in the AFC Championship Game.

Primary competitor #2: Tyquan Thornton 

A second-round pick in 2022, Thornton had a disappointing career in New England. Over three seasons, the Baylor product amassed just 39 catches for 385 yards and two touchdowns.

However, going from the combination of Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, and Jacoby Brissett to Patrick Mahomes could prove beneficial. After being waived by the Patriots, Thornton spent the back half of last season on Kansas City’s practice squad.

With a strong showing in camp and the preseason, he could make the roster and help turn his career around.

Primary competitor #3: Justyn Ross

It seems as if we’ve been waiting for Ross to blossom into a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver for some time now, and that hasn’t come close to being the case.

While Ross has generated headlines for his training camp performances in the past (especially in 2023), he has ultimately caught just six passes for 53 yards in his career. Last season, he appeared in only two games and had zero catches on one target.

At this point, Chiefs fans should accept that Ross is unlikely to become a star. Still, he could secure a roster spot this fall with another strong preseason showing. This may very well be the former Clemson standout’s final opportunity to show what he’s got and meaningfully contribute to the offense.

Primary competitor #4: Skyy Moore

Much to the chagrin of some Chiefs fans, Skyy Moore is still in the running to be the final receiver in the rotation.

A 2022 second-round pick from Western Michigan, Moore has had a complicated career in Kansas City. On one hand, he made two huge plays in the 2022 postseason—a 29-yard punt return to set up the game-winning field goal in the AFC Championship and a late touchdown in Super Bowl LVII.

On the other hand, Moore has struggled mightily over the past two seasons. In 2023, he caught just 21 passes for 244 yards despite starting eight games.

In 2024, he caught zero passes on just three targets through six games, which ultimately prompted the Hopkins trade. Similar to Ross, Moore will need an outstanding training camp and preseason to make the final 53-man roster in September.

Prediction for Chiefs WR6: Nikko Remigio

Ultimately, I think Remigio will get the nod to round out the receiving room. While it’s uncertain whether he adds much from a receiving standpoint, he showed too much promise on special teams last season to be left off the roster—barring injury.

While Thornton is intriguing, he has never shown signs of being a high-level NFL receiver, even considering New England’s poor offensive infrastructure. Ross has been more of an idea than a player to this point, and it appears he lacks trust from the coaching staff, as evidenced by his lack of playing time.

As for Moore, it seems the Chiefs may have admitted defeat on the experiment, as he didn’t appear in a game after Week 7 last year.

While Remigio is far from proven, his flashes as a returner could be a legitimate asset to the Chiefs’ special teams unit—and that might be enough to earn the final receiver spot.