Patrick Mahomes does not sound worried about who will catch the ball if the Kansas City Chiefs are short at receiver again this week. After Tyquan Thornton went on injured reserve with a dislocated ankle and Rashee Rice remained limited by a hamstring issue coming out of the bye, Mahomes said his message to the next group — including rookies and second-year wideouts such as Cyrus Allen and Jalen Royals — is simple trust.
“It’s that they’re ready. Like, they’ve put in the work,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “Obviously we’ve had guys in front of them with Tyquan going out there and playing great football. And so they’ve had to put in the work at practice, and they’ve been doing that and doing that. And so now their number gets called and they’re going to step into the role and do their job. And so I’m excited for them. We’ll put them in position to succeed. And so I have a lot of trust in those guys, a lot of confidence in them. And so we’ll continue to push it forward.”
Thornton was placed on injured reserve after dislocating his ankle against the Las Vegas Raiders, and the club signed Justin Watson back to help fill the room. Rice did not practice Wednesday because of the hamstring, leaving Xavier Worthy as the clearest established option among the wideouts who are available. Through four games Worthy has 14 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown on 22 targets. Royals has three catches for 17 yards and a score on five targets; Allen has two targets and no catches.
“A full week of getting those reps”
Mahomes said the difference this week is preparation time. “I thought they did a great job of stepping in whenever their number’s been called, but now they’ll have a full week of kind of getting those reps in, and we’ll put them in positions to succeed where they can do their best things,” he said. “Like I said, I have a lot of confidence in those guys. They had a great job at training camp, and when their number’s been called in the season, they’ve done a great job as well.”
He also described how he teaches young receivers on the fly, the same way Travis Kelce once talked him through plays. “In training camp and in early parts of the season, maybe in practice, when something happens, I go up to them and talk to what they’re thinking and kind of how I’m thinking,” Mahomes said. “And you hope that sticks with them … so that when it happens in the game, they’re ready for it.”
Explosive, then cleaner
Kansas City is 4-0. Mahomes has completed 82 of 128 passes for 1,037 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions through four games, and he said the bye helped him reset after an early stretch of tough opponents. “We’ve been explosive and that’s been huge for us,” he said. “I think the biggest thing is about being more consistent kind of throughout the game. There’s been kind of spells in each game where we necessarily haven’t played our best football. But having those explosive plays helps out a ton.”
The undefeated Chiefs host the 0-5 Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, October 18, at 4:25 p.m. EDT.
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