Coming off another AFC Championship-winning campaign, the Kansas City Chiefs are eyeing a return to their trademark offensive explosiveness in 2025. While Patrick Mahomes has continued to lead the franchise to success, last season highlighted an uncharacteristic drop in offensive firepower.
Mahomes, who still managed to guide Kansas City to a third straight Super Bowl appearance, posted a career-low 6.8 yards per attempt in 2024. That statistic alone painted a clear picture: the Chiefs’ vertical attack had gone missing. With defenses no longer stretched deep as they were in the Tyreek Hill era, Mahomes had fewer opportunities to hit home run plays.
The plan to restore the long-ball threat has already begun, and it starts with the offseason program. According to second-year receiver Xavier Worthy, head coach Andy Reid is making sure his players are preparing for a shift in offensive philosophy.
“Coach [Andy] Reid told us during OTAs, Phase I, ‘When you come back, get your hamstrings ready,'” Worthy said during an appearance on Up & Adams. “So, he kind of knew that we were going to be going a little deep in practice, so we kind of got our bodies and our minds ready [for] what we were going to be doing in practice.”
Chiefs receivers told to gear up for deep-ball revival
Worthy, a standout rookie from Texas and the fastest player at the 2024 NFL Combine with a record-setting 4.21-second 40-yard dash, is expected to play a key role in Kansas City’s downfield resurgence. The 21-year-old wideout has already impressed during early team activities and seems poised to become one of Mahomes’ most dynamic targets.
While the Chiefs leaned heavily on short and intermediate routes last season, largely due to injuries and inconsistent play from the receiving corps, the offensive blueprint is changing. Reid’s message was clear from the jump: receivers will be running deeper routes, and conditioning will be key to keeping pace in what’s expected to be a high-tempo passing attack.
With offseason additions like Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and a healthier core that includes Rashee Rice (assuming he’s available amid legal concerns), Mahomes should have more speed and depth at his disposal than he did in 2024. The team hopes that injecting new life into the vertical game will help them reclaim their offensive dominance.
This emphasis on speed isn’t surprising given the Chiefs’ recent history. During the early Mahomes years, Kansas City became feared for its big-play ability, largely powered by Hill, Travis Kelce, and blazing-fast secondary receivers. While Kelce remains, the burden now falls on Worthy and company to recreate that kind of stretch-the-field potency.
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