3 Kansas City Chiefs still showing warning signs despite 6-1 start

Kansas City Chiefs WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling has room to improve

It may surprise some to know that of every player on the Kansas City Chiefs roster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling has the sixth-highest 2023 salary-cap hit, trailing only Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, Joe Thuney, and Justin Reid.

Unfortunately, however, the former Green Bay Packer has been nowhere near worth the $11 million he's collecting this season.

Coming off a 2022 campaign during which he caught 42 passes for 687 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding another 122 yards and a pair of scores during Kansas City's postseason run, the former Green Bay Packer is on pace to finish with far worse numbers in 2023.

Through the first seven games of this current campaign, all of which he's started, Valdes-Scantling has been targeted 17 times and has caught just 10 passes. Sure, those 10 catches have accounted for 200 yards, and he has scored a touchdown.

But it's a bit concerning when the team's highest-paid wideout has fewer targets and fewer receptions than seven other players.

Now, MVS obviously can't control how many times Mahomes throws the football in his direction. And, yes, Rashee Rice has exceeded expectations in his rookie season with 26 catches for 305 yards and three TDs.

Perhaps the six-year veteran is simply a decoy at this point -- and maybe he's just fine with that, given the big checks he's collecting. But one has to think Valdes-Scantling would enjoy being a more significant part of the Chiefs' offense.