Zay Flowers Could Be An Ideal Playmaker For The Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs prevailed in Super Bowl LVII at the end of their first season without superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill, having traded him to the Miami Dolphins last offseason. While it may be a stretch to suggest losing Hill was a case of addition by subtraction, the Chiefs’ offense did not lose a step without him. Now, as they construct their roster ahead of the 2023 campaign, wideout will once again be an area of focus for the Chiefs.

Kansas City lost one of its key contributors at wide receiver last year, Juju Smith-Schuster, in free agency last month. After rehabilitating his value in his lone season with the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster signed with the New England Patriots.

Mecole Hardman also departed for the New York Jets, leaving the Chiefs’ depth chart at wideout looking barren beyond Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore.

There is a school of thought that the Chiefs need to add size at receiver in this month’s NFL Draft. They can likely do that on day two of a draft that will be held in Kansas City, however, they may find it hard to resist if a wideout whose frame is anything but imposing falls to them with the final pick of the first round.

At a little over 5ft 9in and 182 pounds, Zay Flowers is small even for a slot receiver, but in a fantastic career at Boston College, he proved his size was no barrier to him shining as a wideout who can thrive from any position in the formation.

The Chiefs already drafted a smaller receiver last year when they selected the shifty Moore in the second round out of Western Michigan, but Flowers is a different type of talent who could step in and become an immediate playmaker at all levels of the field for Patrick Mahomes.

Flowers brings inside-out versatility, possessing the skill set to consistently create separation from the outside and the slot. He does so largely because of impressive change of direction ability that enables him to win consistently with his route-running.

He is often able to defeat coverage early with his release, regularly getting the better of defenders through his fluidity in changing direction and the explosion he displays out of his breaks when doing so at the start of the route. Flowers also demonstrates an understanding of how to attack a defender’s leverage successfully and often marries his lower body with astute head fakes that enable him to create separation.

Not your typical deep threat, Flowers doesn’t have elite speed, but he is fast enough to maintain downfield separation when he gets a step working downfield. Even when does he not have separation, Flowers’ ball-tracking ability still allows him to make big plays. Flowers finds the ball in the air early and excels at adjusting to inaccurate throws, while he has regularly been able to overcome his size deficiencies to win contested-catch battles with bigger cornerbacks.

Arguably Flowers’ forte, though, is what he does when he gets the ball in his hands in open space. Used as a ball-carrier out of the backfield as well as a traditional receiver, he boasts the elusiveness to make defenders miss and possesses an evident second gear.

That extremely well-rounded skill set helped Flowers rack up 16 plays of 20 yards or more last season. Over his college career, Flowers averaged 15.3 yards per reception, illustrating the kind of big-play ability that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid could put to very good use.

Of course, Reid showed how effectively he can deploy versatile wideouts who are effective out of the backfield in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles, using motion to get both Toney and Moore wide open for touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

There is an argument for the Chiefs prioritising size at wideout, especially after losing a possession receiver like Smith-Schuster. However, the Chiefs have been hugely successful with two and three-tight end sets, allowing them to get size mismatches on the field and still excel in the passing game, lessening the need for bigger wideouts.

Few coaches can match Reid for varied and effective usage of his offensive personnel. Flowers would give him an explosive Swiss Army knife to utilise, and his size deficiencies might not be much of a concern for the Chiefs if he somehow falls into their path at pick 31.