Brett Veach went to work this offseason ensuring that the Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver position would be a much stronger asset than it’s been the past few seasons. Hollywood Brown is back for another year, Xavier Worthy is coming off a strong rookie season, and Rashee Rice should be healthy and able to contribute once he serves his looming suspension.

I didn’t even mention Jalen Royals or JuJu Smith-Schuster in this group but those are two names to watch out for as well. Royals was an excellent value pick by Kansas City while Smith-Schuster has emerged as one of Patrick Mahomes’ favorite weapons since joining the Chiefs during his first stint with them in 2022.

The Chiefs also brought in a ton of undrafted free agents at wide receiver to bolster the position throughout training camp and preseason. One UDFA wide receiver that the Chiefs brought in that Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network has high hopes for is Elijhah Badger. Fowler listed Badger as a UDFA who could fight for a spot on a 53-man roster.

Chiefs UDFA Elijhah Badger is a name to watch, per draft analyst

Badger played for four years at Arizona State before transferring to Florida for his final year of eligibility. While his 2024 season didn’t pass the career year he had in 2022 with the Sun Devils, Badger still put up impressive numbers in his one year with the Gators, tallying 806 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 67.2 yards per game.

Some fans might see Fowler’s comment and roll their eyes, but all he said was that he believed Badger has a chance to make it onto the Chiefs’ 53-man roster. Is that really such a crazy thought? Skyy Moore has been a massive bust, Justyn Ross never lived up to the hype, and the other depth pieces on the roster are mostly nobodies facing the same situation that Badger is.

What’s to stop Badger from not only working his way onto the roster but fighting for some playing time as well? Considering Brown’s injury history and Rice’s injury and looming suspension, the Chiefs will need some of their depth pieces to step up and Badger could be one of the depth pieces that does.

We’ve seen Mahomes gel with unknown names like Justin Watson in the past so would it really surprise anyone if Badger became someone the three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback could rely on? It’d be pretty cool if an undrafted free agent went from being just that to becoming one of Patrick Mahomes’ favorite weapons and maybe Elijhah Badger can accomplish that feat.