5 free agents Chiefs could still sign to improve receiving corps

4. Sammy Watkins

When Sammy Watkins was a wide receiver prospect, he was more touted than Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, Allen Robinson, and other great pass-catchers in the same legendary draft class. Aside from a couple of sparse shouts for Odell, nobody really doubted it at the time. Watkins was a monster for Clemson and had a phenomenal start to his career with the Buffalo Bills.

Unfortunately for Watkins, his career never truly took off because of nagging injuries. He had some games with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2018 to 2020 after a failed trade to the Rams from Buffalo, but he didn't turn his career around with Mahomes and Co. either. Still, Watkins had his moments for the Chiefs and is better than some of the receivers getting snaps for them right now, including Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He showed some juice last season for the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers last season, averaging 12 yards per target. There's a contributor in there.

3. TY Hilton

Jarvis Landry and Sammy Watkins have put together solid NFL careers, but TY Hilton was legitimately one of the league's elite wideouts during his time with the Indianapolis Colts. Hilton was Andrew Luck's go-to weapon when the ex-Stanford star didn't have much around him. He made four straight Pro Bowls and even led the league with 1,448 receiving yards in 2016.

At this point, Hilton's decline has been steep. He got a look from the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, and there was some optimism he could play a key role in their high-octane offense. Instead, Hilton only got three games in.

For him, though, the biggest problem is just getting on the field. If you look at his numbers over the past few seasons, he's still making a "successful" play on well over half of his targets. As a mid-season, veteran free agent flier, you could do a lot worse than Hilton. Better yet, with a quarterback like Mahomes, Hilton has the upside to prove he has one more in him with a big season.