Regarding Kadarius Toney’s drops, Chiefs’ Matt Nagy said, “Nobody’s more frustrated than him.”
The Kansas City Chiefs have the chance to secure their eighth consecutive AFC title and their ninth consecutive postseason berth when they host the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday in observance of Christmas Day. The team still has a chance to secure the top playoff seed in the AFC by winning the remaining games and hoping for some other favorable outcomes.
However, a lot of people think the Chiefs’ offense hasn’t played as well as it has in previous seasons, which is why they won’t be successful in the postseason. The team was first in 2022 in both yards gained and points scored; in 2023, it is ranked eighth and tenth, respectively.
It’s widely believed that the team’s wide receivers are the main issue, with drops being one of the main issues. Based on data obtained from the Pro Football Reference Stathead service, three players from Kansas City are among the top six wideouts with at least 30 targets in terms of percentage of dropped passes: Rahsee Rice (ranked fourth at 9.5%), Justin Watson (ranked sixth at 9.3%), and Kadarius Toney (ranked first at 13.2%).
Of course, those drops are accompanied by a significant production of rice. With 68 receptions, he has now amassed 754 yards and seven touchdowns. However, Toney has only logged 169 yards (and a score) on 27 while Watson has only managed 381 yards (and two touchdowns) on 22. Even worse, Connor Embree, the wide receivers coach for the Chiefs, believes that part of the issue is that Toney has dropped passes in high-pressure circumstances.
According to the position coach, “I wouldn’t say he hasn’t lived up to the expectations” on Friday. “He might have made a mistake on a few plays during the season that just so happened to be in a crucial situation or something.”
Because he doesn’t seem to be receiving a half-grade every game when I grade him out in games and other stuff, I believe it looks worse than his actual season as a whole. Thus, I believe that it’s more simply situational—what happened, when, and where, for example.
When Embree suggested that Toney “might have had an error,” she was wrong. Without question, Toney erred in those high-stakes situations.
Other than that, Embree was bringing up an important point. With 30 targets and 100 wideouts, Toney’s catch percentage of 71.1% is the 15th best. (Rice, incidentally, comes in third at 81.0%) Toney’s figure surpasses his quarterback’s 67.4% completion percentage. Additionally, it outperforms the catch percentages of A.J. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, Ja’Marr Chase, Courtland Sutton, and Deebo Samuel.
There is no denying the negative effects of dropped passes. However, a receiver is performing as we would expect of him if he is catching passes at a rate that is comparable to or higher than his quarterback’s rate of completion. A receiver should always aim to make more catches; after all, it is reasonable to assume that he will bring the ball in if it lands in his hands. However, assuming a receiver won’t ever drop the ball or concentrating just on the ones they do is probably a mistake.
According to Embree, “that’s probably the hardest thing— or the thing that keeps coaches up the most.” People frequently mention how they remember their losses more than their victories.
Furthermore, Toney’s coaches claim that he is being held responsible for his errors.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy stated on Friday, “That’s a part of this business—and everything that we do—so we know that day-by-day, play-by-play [and] game-by-game, we’re all accountable.” And KT will manage it perfectly.
Toney’s lack of effort is categorically denied by Embree.
“It’s not due to a deficiency of effort,” said the coach of wide receivers. “It stems more from trying to write plays, in my opinion. He’s attempting to either move before he gets the ball or catch it. There’s nothing more to it than that—him attempting to make plays for our team.
Nagy says Toney is getting attached to it.
“There’s nobody who is more irritated than him,” the coordinator maintained. We all agree that he needs to make the catch, and as a team, we’ve approached it by discussing last week’s theme of getting off to a quick start and finishing strong. But whether it was punts or turnovers on those final four drives, as an offense, we didn’t finish strong.
We won the game in the end, but we didn’t play well in the end. With a 17-point lead, we gave them enough momentum to score a touchdown. Therefore, we all aspire to improve.
Furthermore, Toney is still working hard, according to Embree.
“He has been performing well,” the coach stated. One quality of KT that I adore is that he remains unaffected by noise or anything else. We adore the fact that he remains the same every day. He is still putting in a lot of effort at work and fulfilling his obligations. That’s him, and we appreciate that.
