The Kansas City Chiefs’ passing attack was supposed to return to its high-flying ways this season, but through two games that hasn’t been the case. With Rashee Rice suspended and Xavier Worthy injured, Patrick Mahomes has been relying more on his legs than his receiving weapons. Consequently, the Chiefs are 0–2 and really need to rebound Sunday night against the New York Giants.
There was hope that Xavier Worthy would be back in action this week, but news broke Saturday that he had been ruled out for the Giants game on Sunday night. Thus far, Brett Veach has opted not to bring in any new weapons for the offense despite fans hoping for a reunion with Tyreek Hill or maybe even a new starting running back. That means any improvements to the offense this week are going to have to come from in-house.
Can Chiefs rookie Jalen Royals be the solution?
The best hope the Chiefs have is rookie Jalen Royals returning from a preseason knee injury. Royals was a full participant in practice on Friday and looks poised to make his NFL regular-season debut this week. If that is the case, it could provide the spark the Chiefs’ offense needs. KC has found some success with Tyquan Thornton as a deep threat and Hollywood Brown as a possession-type receiver, but they have really missed Rashee Rice’s run-after-the-catch ability that can turn a short pass into a big gain.
Royals showed exactly that same type of ability at Utah State, where he averaged over 15 yards per reception in each of his two seasons as a starter. Many believed Royals could have gone as early as the second round in the NFL Draft, and he was viewed as a steal where the Chiefs took him in the fourth round.
Royals has a physical frame for a wide receiver (also similar to Rice) and can look more like a running back with the ball in his hands than a wideout. If teams are going to focus on covering Travis Kelce and Hollywood Brown and taking away the deep ball to Tyquan Thornton, having Royals available to exploit holes would be a huge asset.
You can see the Chiefs trying to generate those types of touches in his limited preseason reps below:
Here's all of Jalen Royals receptions in the pre-season. Been awhile since we've seen him on the field. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/oXQMDHJcj0
— Price Carter (@priceacarter) September 18, 2025
The Giants’ secondary is also far from elite at shutting down opposing wide receivers. Just last week the Dallas Cowboys’ top three receivers combined for 19 receptions for 370 yards and three touchdowns against the Giants. Obviously, CeeDee Lamb is one of the NFL’s top receivers, but Wan’Dale Robinson is far from elite, and he went for eight receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown vs. the Giants last week.
The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, Andy Reid running the offense, and an offensive line that seems to have shored up some of its pass-protection problems from last season. They have the potential to exploit the Giants’ pass defense—they just need their pass catchers to make some plays. Through the first two weeks, they’ve struggled to do that at times, but hopefully Jalen Royals can help provide that spark in his NFL debut.
