The Kansas City Chiefs faced a lot of questions about their offense after a major offseason trade of wide receiver Tyreek Hill. After just one week, one ESPN analyst is quite convinced by what he saw.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said on “NFL Live” that the Chiefs will be more difficult to play against going forward, as Hill’s departure is allowing for more diversity on offense and more freedom for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“It’s formation diversity now. I thought they would be more difficult to plan for. I think they’re more difficult to play against now after watching Week 1, because it allows them to do exactly what they want to do with Andy Reid.
The Chiefs' offense hasn't lost a step without Tyreek Hill 📈
"I think [the Chiefs] are more difficult to play against now after watching Week 1." —@danorlovsky7 pic.twitter.com/hZqpILK0yT
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 15, 2022
“Patrick now gets to the line of scrimmage and the defense is really telling him where to throw the football to,” Orlovsky said. “I feel like in the past, it’s been ‘We start this play with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, and then you move on to somebody else. What happens if the defense is telling me something different?’ That’s truly what Andy Reid wants to be. A bunch of formation diversity and allow Patrick Mahomes to determine who’s the best matchup pre-snap.”
It’s far too soon to tell whether or not this take will hold up over the course of the season. The early returns are certainly promising, though. The Chiefs posted 44 points in their season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, with Mahomes going 30/39 for 360 yards and five touchdowns. Not every week will be that good, but the Chiefs certainly did not look worse off without Hill, even if some were not quite as impressed.
Mahomes did warn about this sort of approach before the season. It may be bad for fantasy football owners, but it certainly seems like it will be hugely beneficial for the team.
