The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to rebound from a huge Super Bowl 59 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. But entering the season, there is going to be uncertainty surrounding top wide receiver Rashee Rice, who is facing a suspension from the NFL after being sentenced to 30 days in jail for felony crash and racing on highway charges. Given that Rice could be suspended for any amount of time, the Chiefs will need a wide receiver to step up.
So far in training camp, there is one player who has stepped up in practice and could make a run at a starting position. That player is rookie Jalen Royals, who spent some time working with the first-team offense on Wednesday. Look no further than his touchdown reception on a pass from Patrick Mahomes.
TD to Jalen Royals pic.twitter.com/LBCeMzW3Qh
— Price Carter (@priceacarter) July 23, 2025
Chiefs rookie Jalen Royals making noise early on in training camp
The touchdown wasn't the only impact play Royals made in practice. Mahomes connected with Royals on a deep pass between the hashes.
Patrick Mahomes to rookie Jalen Royals pic.twitter.com/1B1EBTqSW8
— Farzin Vousoughian (@Farzin21) July 23, 2025
Considering the Chiefs will see Rice sidelined due to a suspension, they will need their other wide receivers to step up. Even though there is still a lot of training camp togo, Royals is making an early impression so far.
The Chiefs used their fourth round pick on Royals, who was initially deemed a Day 2 pick. Royals spent his collegiate career playing for Utah State. In 2023, Royals stood out, catching 71 passes for 1,080 yards and a Mountain West-best 15 touchdowns. In 2024, Royals caught 55 passes for 834 yards and six touchdowns in seven games.
The Chiefs have had a revolving door at wide receiver ever since they traded away Tyreek Hill. But there are mainstays like Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster, while having players entering their second year with the team in Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy. Training camp presents head coach Andy Reid with the chance to see who has what it takes to have an expanded role on the team.
It's still really early, but Royals seemingly has made some noise while practicing with the first-team offense. Again, he'll have to keep it up if he wants to earn that spot on the offense.