With Tyreek Hill off the team, the Chiefs notably have to somehow replace his production.
One of the players the team will rely on to do so is free agent signee Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Kansas City signed him to a three-year deal in March, bringing in the speedy receiver after he spent his first four seasons with the Packers. He missed several games due to injury in 2021, finishing the year with 26 catches with 430 yards with three touchdowns.
At the end of the Chiefs’ offseason program last week, quarterback Patrick Mahomes said Valdes-Scantling has been a quick study, acclimating himself to the team well.
“I think he’s done a great job of learning the offense really fast and making plays when his number’s been called,” Mahomes said at his press conference. “He’s a smart guy, so you can see why he’s able to pick up stuff so fast. And he has a good feel for everything, especially there in the earlier part when we had a couple of guys banged up — he got a lot of reps and made a lot of plays.”
Because of that, Mahomes gained confidence that Valdes-Scantling could continue making plays when everybody returned to the field.
“So you saw a couple of them down the sideline where it was one-on-one and I just threw it up and let him make a play and he did,” Mahomes said. “So that’s a good thing to see and hopefully it carries on in training camp and into the season.”
Valdes-Scantling’s best season came in 2020, when he caught 33 passes for 690 yards with six touchdowns — leading the league with a 20.9-yard reception average.
Overall, he has 123 receptions for 2,153 yards with 13 TDs in 59 games with 39 starts.
