The Kansas City Chiefs are set to deploy a new-look group of pass-catchers this year, and despite an offseason that included significant change at the wide receiver position, ESPN analyst Mike Clay doesn't expect Kansas City to miss a beat offensively.
Clay, who published an extensive slew of projections on Sunday, believes that the Chiefs will lead the NFL in scoring this season behind the offensive wizardry of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Head Coach Andy Reid.
Here's what Clay had to say about the projection, which predicted a season total of 479 points for Kansas City:
"The Chiefs top this category for the fourth consecutive season. In 2019, they were projected for 469 and scored 451. In 2020, they were projected for 470 and scored 473. Last season, I had them at 477 points and they scored 480. Yes, Hill is gone, but the offensive line is elite, Mahomes is throwing the passes (often to Travis Kelce) and Reid is calling the shots. That's promising."
Kansas City has fielded a top-six offensive unit in every season of Mahomes' tenure as a starter, ranking No. 1 in scoring offense in 2018 (35.3 points-per-game), No. 5 in 2019 (28.2 points-per-game), No. 6 in 2020 (29.6 points-per-game) and No. 4 in 2021 (28.2 points-per-game).
The Chiefs' wide receiver corps underwent some extensive changes this past offseason, but Kansas City's depth offensively was evident during the preseason. In fact, Mahomes found at least five different pass-catchers on all three of his preseason possessions, each of which ended with a passing touchdown.
"It's going to be a lot like that this year. It's going to come from everywhere," said Mahomes following the preseason opener. "It's going to be hard for teams to game plan against [us]. Obviously, Travis is going to have a lot of catches – that's just who he is – but other than that, it's going to come from the whole group. I think the guys have kind of embraced that, and whenever their number gets called, they're going to make a play."
As far as Clay is concerned, that formula is going to be immensely successful in 2022.
For a look at Clay's projections, click here.
