Giving up a second-round pick was entirely too much. I know it, you know it, we all know it. That doesn’t make it any less disheartening to see the news over the past week: The Houston Texans traded for Marvin Harrison Jr. The Kansas City Chiefs signed Justin Watson.
It’s a tale as old as time. One AFC team makes a big move while the Chiefs settle for the homecoming with a known commodity.
That doesn’t make it the wrong move. It just makes it the convenient one.
The Chiefs find themselves in a tough
spot at wide receiver again. Tyquan Thornton emerged in the first month of the regular season as the team’s leading receiver. Rashee Rice was finally starting to look more like himself. And then disaster happened. Thornton is out for an extended period of time with a dislocated ankle. We’ll see how long Rice misses with his hamstring issue.
The only active wide receiver this week with more than 20 receiving yards on the season is Xavier Worthy. Jalen Royals has played 60 offensive snaps this season. Rookie Cyrus Allen has only played 10. This team needs bodies to fill out the roster. Watson helps them do that.
For now.
Eventually something else has to give for this offense. Someone has to replace the production Thornton was providing in the deep passing game, in particular. His average target this season was over 18 yards downfield. Only two other wide receivers in the NFL with at least 15 targets have a comparable average depth of target. Neither of them is nearly as productive on those targets. Patrick Mahomes had a 154.9 QB Rating this season when targeting Thornton. A perfect passer rating is 158.3.
Those deep targets open up everything underneath — the passing game, the running game. Everything. Thornton was a critical element to the offense. It’s going to be a lot to replace. I didn’t anticipate saying that in 2026 about Tyquan Thornton, but here we are.
Marvin Harrison Jr. wasn’t the answer to fill the Tyquan Thornton-sized hole in the offense. Not for the price the Cardinals demanded, at least.
I found 23 trades over the past decade that included at least a second-round pick as compensation for a wide receiver. I can only think of two or three instances in which the team that made the trade for the receiver would do it over again if they knew then what they know now — the Philadelphia Eagles trading for A.J. Brown, the Buffalo Bills trading for Stefon Diggs and (possibly) the Dallas Cowboys trading for Amari Cooper. The Texans are pretty likely to regret this deal. They had to make it given their situation: a quarterback nearing the end of his rookie deal and the reality of what faces a team after a 1-4 start. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and this reeks of a desperate move.
The Chiefs could feel more urgency to make a significant move within the next month. The trade deadline is November 10th. That means only four games remain before it’s decision time.
The clock is ticking, and one player is under particular pressure.
It’s time for Xavier Worthy to step up.
If anyone on this roster can replace some of what Thornton brought to the table, it’s Worthy. He has the deep speed. We’ve seen him make contested deep catches before. Remember his catch against the Bills in the playoffs? Where’s that receiver been this year?
Worthy’s 1.05 yards per route run this season ranks ahead of only Kayshon Boutte, Isaiah Williams, Ted Hurst, Rashid Shaheed, Quentin Johnston, Chris Bell, Darnell Mooney, Courtland Sutton, Makai Lemon, Jerry Jeudy, Marvin Harrison Jr. (!!!), Bryce Lance and Jauan Jennings among wide receivers who have run at least 100 routes this year, per Sumer Sports. His 6 yards per target this season is the eighth lowest among all wide receivers with at least 20 targets.
We could go on, but we’ve discussed this before. It’s not good. Worthy has been on the field more than ever this season, but less productive than ever. I don’t know if it’s an issue with his role, getting comfortable on the field again after his injuries last year, or what. But… it’s time for him to step up again.
If Worthy can regain the form he found at the end of 2024, the Chiefs won’t have an issue at receiver. He finished with 58 receptions on 76 targets for 679 yards and 6 touchdowns in the final seven regular-season and three postseason games that year. That’s a 17-game pace of 99 receptions for 1,150 yards and 10 touchdowns. That’s a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver, exactly what the team is lacking.
If he can’t regain that form, another move will be necessary. Options are limited. A player like Jeudy from the Cleveland Browns makes some sense. Quentin Johnston isn’t overly inspiring, but he’s the kind of deep threat this team could use.
Let’s hope the Chiefs never have to explore that path. The best-case scenario for everyone involved is for Worthy to come out of the bye with something to prove and remind everyone why the Chiefs selected him in the first round a couple of years ago.
This team can win a Super Bowl. They can’t let the receiver position drag them down again.
