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When the Kansas City Chiefs selected Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals with the 133rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, they future-proofed the offense with a dynamic playmaker. Royals projects as a significant part of the offense in 2026 and beyond, but he might settle for a complementary role as a rookie.
The Chiefs enter the upcoming season with a trio of established receivers in Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. Additionally, tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray project to play prominent roles. Gray began eating into Kelce’s totals in 2024 and should continue to ease the veteran’s workload during the regular season.
Assuming Royals wins the fourth wide receiver job ahead of Skyy Moore and JuJu Smith-Schuster, he would spend most of 2025 operating as Kansas City’s sixth most valuable pass catcher. That’s not even accounting for the fact that a healthy Isiah Pacheco caught 44 passes in 2023.
On the low end, Royals might mirror Troy Franklin’s rookie production. Franklin was the 102nd pick in the 2024 class and totaled 263 yards and two touchdowns. He finished sixth on the Broncos in receiving yards.
However, there are some more optimistic projections for Royals. Injuries could provide a path for him to see more meaningful snaps. Brown and Rice missed 28 combined games in 2024, and injuries remain a constant concern for smaller players like Brown and Worthy.
In a scenario where one of the projected starting receivers misses significant time, Royals could accumulate roughly 30 receptions on 45 targets for 400 yards and three touchdowns. That’s the equivalent of the year Ricky Pearsall put together for the San Francisco 49ers when he was their fourth-leading receiver in 2024.
A top-of-the-line rookie campaign from Royals would fall in line with Dontayvion Wicks’ 2023 production. That season, Wicks outplayed his fifth round draft status and totaled 39 receptions for 581 yards and four touchdowns while finishing third on the Packers in receiving yards.
These projections might seem pessimistic, but they’re realistic considering Royals’ expected position on the depth chart. The Chiefs no longer have a superstar pass catcher, but there are plenty of mouths to feed on the roster. Royals is a raw player with tremendous upside who will play a leading role in future seasons when his route tree is more fully developed.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs Jalen Royals rookie preview: 2025 stat projections
Continue reading...
The Chiefs enter the upcoming season with a trio of established receivers in Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. Additionally, tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray project to play prominent roles. Gray began eating into Kelce’s totals in 2024 and should continue to ease the veteran’s workload during the regular season.
Assuming Royals wins the fourth wide receiver job ahead of Skyy Moore and JuJu Smith-Schuster, he would spend most of 2025 operating as Kansas City’s sixth most valuable pass catcher. That’s not even accounting for the fact that a healthy Isiah Pacheco caught 44 passes in 2023.
On the low end, Royals might mirror Troy Franklin’s rookie production. Franklin was the 102nd pick in the 2024 class and totaled 263 yards and two touchdowns. He finished sixth on the Broncos in receiving yards.
However, there are some more optimistic projections for Royals. Injuries could provide a path for him to see more meaningful snaps. Brown and Rice missed 28 combined games in 2024, and injuries remain a constant concern for smaller players like Brown and Worthy.
In a scenario where one of the projected starting receivers misses significant time, Royals could accumulate roughly 30 receptions on 45 targets for 400 yards and three touchdowns. That’s the equivalent of the year Ricky Pearsall put together for the San Francisco 49ers when he was their fourth-leading receiver in 2024.
A top-of-the-line rookie campaign from Royals would fall in line with Dontayvion Wicks’ 2023 production. That season, Wicks outplayed his fifth round draft status and totaled 39 receptions for 581 yards and four touchdowns while finishing third on the Packers in receiving yards.
These projections might seem pessimistic, but they’re realistic considering Royals’ expected position on the depth chart. The Chiefs no longer have a superstar pass catcher, but there are plenty of mouths to feed on the roster. Royals is a raw player with tremendous upside who will play a leading role in future seasons when his route tree is more fully developed.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs Jalen Royals rookie preview: 2025 stat projections
Continue reading...
