When the Chiefs acquired receiver Kadarius Toney from the Giants, it seemed like a move with an eye toward the future.
Maybe Toney would provide some lift in 2022. But there was no pressure for the Chiefs to heavily rely on the young receiver.
After last week, though, it looks like the Chiefs can plan on Toney continuing to expand his role in Kansas City. He caught four passes for 57 yards with a touchdown. He had a pair of carries for 33 yards. And he served as a punt returner, averaging 5.5 yards per return.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes said this week that he wasn’t surprised by Toney making the plays, despite his late-October arrival date.
“But just us being able to move him around as much as we have, it’s a testament to him,” Mahomes said in his Wednesday press conference. “He’s really got in here, he’s learned. He’s learned multiple positions. We’ve moved him around now, it’s not like he’s in that one spot. And so, we’ll just continue to build on that.
“We don’t want to overwhelm him. We don’t want to put too much on his plate, but we’re going to keep giving him more and more, and get him more involved in this offense because it’ll make this offense better as a whole as the season goes on.”
With Mecole Hardman placed on injured reserve and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the concussion protocol, the Chiefs may need more from Toney this week. The club also has Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, and Justin Watson on the 53-man roster at receiver.
