The Chiefs have traded their third- and sixth-round picks in next year's NFL Draft for last year's 20th overall pick, wide receiver Kadarius Toney. Toney, often injured, didn't live up to expectations with the Giants, but could be a perfect fit with the Chiefs.
Toney has speed and agility to put defenders on skates, and has already flashed the potential to make the Chiefs' No. 1 scoring offense even scarier. He only has 420 receiving yards in 12 career games, but he broke Odell Beckham Jr.'s Giants rookie record with 189 receiving yards in a game against the Cowboys in Week 5 last season. The week prior, he was a human highlight reel against the Saints.
Here’s a look at new Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney with the football in his hands.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 27, 2022
He has RARE change of direction skills. pic.twitter.com/5jpBsWpcai
Chiefs fans can salivate at Toney's potential impact. No team knows how to use athletes better in open space. This is the third straight season the Chiefs are leading the NFL in yards after catch.
Year after year the Chiefs trot out one of the most innovative offenses in the NFL, full of screens, play fakes, shovel passes, jet sweeps and all the motion (and commotion) your heart could desire.
They've increased their usage of motion (like the rest of the league) each year in the Mahomes era (since 2018) and rank second in motion usage this year. They put a player in motion at, or before the snap, on 67.4 percent of plays. Only the Dolphins do it more (75.7%). And nobody does it better than Kansas City. The Chiefs have nearly double the number of touchdowns using motion (22 vs 13) than anyone else in the league.
| Most Touchdowns Using Motion This Season | |
|---|---|
Chiefs | 22 |
Dolphins | 13 |
12 | |
12 | |
12 |
A lot of motion is by design to create confusion. Teams frequently put a wide receiver in motion simply as a decoy. What makes the Chiefs motion so dangerous is how often they are giving the ball to the actual player in motion and what he is doing with it. It's no gimmick.
This was evident in Kansas City's statement win against the 49ers in Week 7. All three of Mecole Hardman's touchdowns came when he was moving at the snap. He became the first wide receiver in the Super Bowl era with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in a single game.
TURBO ENGINES 🛩
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 23, 2022
📺: #KCvsSF on FOX pic.twitter.com/rn83FKWDVj
Their motion player accounts for 21 percent of the Chiefs' motion touches this year, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL. The Chiefs have the most touches, yards and touchdowns when the motion player gets a touch this year.
| Chiefs When Player in Motion Gets Ball This Season | ||
|---|---|---|
K.C. | Next-Closest Team | |
Touches | 51 | 44 |
Scrimmage yards | 500 | 360 |
Touchdowns | 10 | 3 |
It's especially effective in the red zone area. When a Chiefs player in motion gets a touch in the red zone they score on 9-of-15 plays. When Kansas City doesn't give the motion player a touch in the red area they score on 9-of-32 plays.
Toney ranked third in the FBS in scrimmage yards (220) when he was the player in motion in his final college season at Florida in 2020.
Add it all up and imagine what the Chiefs can do with a gadget player like Toney. He's suddenly Fantasy relevant and Kansas City's offense got a little deadlier.
