Chiefs fans may finally get to see what they’ve been asking for, only now without Patrick Mahomes on the field
Matt Nagy and the Chiefs may try to get Jalen Royals on the field more.
The Kansas City Chiefs are officially eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2014. For fans, it’s a tough pill to swallow given the team’s postseason streak. Although the Chiefs can no longer advance, the last three games offer a valuable opportunity to evaluate young talent for the future. Wide receiver Jalen Royals is among those players.
Chiefs could play rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals more
This team has a few young players and is mostly composed of veterans. Aside from this offseason’s rookies and free agents, nearly everyone has played in at least one Super Bowl. This would be the perfect time to see what the Chiefs have in Royals, who the fan base has been asking for for some time. He’s been injured with knee tendinitis, but now that he’s healthy, we could see him on the field over the next three games.
“You want to see more time for him if possible… Some of it is just a numbers thing for him,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “It’s almost like a redshirt year… I’m excited to see what he’s going to do in these next three games and in the future.”
Royals was a guy the Chiefs took because he brings a bit of a different style than the big three in that receiver room. The Chiefs wanted a guy who did some of the other things well that those three may not, and he seems like he could end up being a very well-balanced player at the position.
Yet, we haven’t really seen him. Royals has played 35 offensive snaps this season and 36 special teams snaps.
“Yeah, Jalen, he’s been working his tail off at practice,” WR coach Connor Embree said. “Super smart kid. He stays locked in during the meetings. We will see if he gets an opportunity over these next three games to make some plays… He was having a great training camp, and he and Pat [Mahomes] were on the same page. I think it [knee tendinitis] was just bad timing.”
The Chiefs are set to play the Tennessee Titans, the Denver Broncos, and the Las Vegas Raiders. Two of those have terrible defenses, which would be ideal in terms of getting Royals the most involved as a rookie wide receiver. The only thing is, these next three games will be with Gardner Minshew, not Patrick Mahomes.
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