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Why The Kansas City Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney Could Become A Deep Threat

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2023

Why The Kansas City Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney Could Become A Deep Threat

Kadarius Toney of the Kansas City Chiefs runs onto the field during introductions against the … [+] Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 21, 2023. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

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After the Kansas City Chiefs lost wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman in free agency this offseason and traded away Tyreek Hill the year prior, it’s no secret that Kadarius Toney will have a bigger role in 2023.

He also may take on the added role of deep threat.

“He has a vertical game,” Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said.

Toney ran a blistering 4.39 in the 40 at his University of Florida pro day in 2021. So he has wheels.

But kind of like Percy Harvin, another former first-round pick from Florida, Toney has primarily been more of a versatile, all-over-the-field guy, including lining up as a slot receiver, returner, runner and gadget guy during his career thus far.

Hardman excelled in those latter roles with the Chiefs before signing a one-year contract with the New York Jets. He repeatedly victimized the San Francisco 49ers on end-arounds while scoring three touchdowns in a 44-23 victory last season.

Originally, Hardman, though, was one of the Legion of Zoom’s deep threats. He averaged more than 20 yards a reception during his rookie year.

Toney’s career average is only 10.7 yards per catch (about three yards fewer than Hardman’s). That suggests Toney’s more of a possession receiver like Smith-Schuster, who signed a three-year, $25.5 million deal with the New England Patriots.

Veach, however, questioned whether those low YPC numbers were a function of the offenses he’s played on.

The No. 20 overall pick in 2021 spent his first one-and-a-half years catching passes from Daniel Jones, who has never had a year where he averaged more than 6.8 yards per attempt, in the New York Giants’ dink-and-dunk system.

“Has he ever played with a quarterback that likes to push the ball down the field?” Veach said.

Well, Toney did when he was traded to a Chiefs offense led by Patrick Mahomes, but that transaction occurred on Oct. 27 — or basically halfway through the 2022 season.

Having to quickly cram in the new, complicated offense mitigated the ways he could be used by the Chiefs, making it more difficult for him to become a deep threat from the get-go last year.

It often takes receivers a year or two to master the Chiefs’ scheme.

“We condensed it because we were in the middle of the season. There is only so much you can do and get him on board with,” Veach said. “He picked up that stuff really easy.”

He acclimated to his new team quickly and made a major impact. Perhaps no one played a more significant role in the Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVII, 38-35, against the Philadelphia Eagles.

He scored a five-yard touchdown on the first possession of the fourth quarter to give the Chiefs their first lead, 28-27, of the game.

After the Eagles went three and out on their next possession, Toney returned the punt 65 yards to the Eagles’ five-yard-line. That was the longest punt return in Super Bowl history and set up the Chiefs’ final touchdown of the game.

So there’s no doubt about Toney’s ability to perform on the biggest stage.

But one question is whether he can become more of a vertical threat to take advantage of Mahomes’ transcendent arm strength.

The other question is whether he can stay healthy. He missed 11 of his first 23 NFL games and struggled through hamstring injuries last year, including missing three games during his short stint with the Chiefs.

Veach, though, remains confident in Toney.

“The sky is the limit for him,” he said. “We have a lot of high hopes for him. I mean, he was a first-round pick for a reason.”

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Kansas

Flood watch issued for Kansas City area through early Friday morning

Published

1 hour ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Flood watch issued for Kansas City area through early Friday morning

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the Kansas City area until 1 a.m. on Friday morning.

In Kansas, Johnson, Miami and Wyandotte counties were included.

In Missouri, Cass, Jackson, Lafayette and Saline counties are included

During this time, flash flooding due to excessive rainfall is possible.

Excessive runoff may result in the flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone places.

Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks.

In addition, creeks in the area are running high and could flood with more heavy rain.

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Kansas

Plan ahead to stay dry at Kansas City Independence Day celebrations

Published

8 hours ago

July 3, 2024

Press Room

Plan ahead to stay dry at Kansas City Independence Day celebrations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A lot of eyes will be looking to the skies for fireworks tomorrow night. But clouds and rain in those skies have many asking if the show will go on.

The key is to plan ahead. Outside the World War I Museum and Memorial, the stage has been set up in advance because the show must go on. So, before you come out here, make a to-do list of stuff to bring and where to go to stay dry.

The stage is set, and so is the spot for fireworks. Kansas Citians are ready to celebrate another 4th of July with a bang.

“It’d be really good to get some family and have friends come along,” Jadon Walker of Kansas City said. “Bring them out and sounds like there will probably be a lot of community out here.”

Leaders of the Stars and Stripes Picnic have been working around the clock to set up the stage. They’ve prepared vendors to bring enough equipment so their setups can withstand any harsh weather.

“We’ve got a larger stage than we might have used before and it’s got a roof to protect the sound equipment that we’ve got set up for the day,” Matthew Naylor, President and CEO of the WWI Museum and Memorial, explained. “Then tomorrow early on the vendors will start coming in and they’ll be appropriately equipped with tents to ensure everything stays safe.”

Eventgoers also need to plan ahead in case the forecast doesn’t stay dry.

“My first thought is an umbrella but that seems kind of silly thinking about this whole group of people,” Walker thought. “Umbrella’s might be impractical. So, I don’t know I don’t have any clear thoughts on that.”

There won’t be an extra emergency shelter set up, they’re asking for festivalgoers to have fun but stay aware.

“We’ll rely on people to keep an eye on their weather apps,” President Naylor said. “That we’ll update people if there’s lightning coming or storms approaching. Then to take appropriate action. They know how to manage in wet weather if a threat presents itself.”

The National WWI Museum will also be open tomorrow from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. if you want to take a break from outside. But it’s not big enough to hold everyone in attendance. Remember to download the First Warn 5 Weather App where our team will have all the latest updates.

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Kansas businessman pleads guilty in case over illegal export of aviation technology to Russia

Published

15 hours ago

July 3, 2024

Press Room

Kansas businessman pleads guilty in case over illegal export of aviation technology to Russia

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas businessman has pleaded guilty to illegally exporting sensitive aviation technology to Russian companies in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Douglas Edward Robertson, who lives in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, was the second Kansas business executive to plead guilty to charges after being accused of smuggling, money laundering, violating U.S. export regulations, submitting false or misleading information to export regulators and conspiring to commit crimes against the U.S., all for profit. Their arrests and the arrest of a Latvian associate in March 2023 came as the U.S. ramped up sanctions and financial penalties on Russia over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Robertson, 56, entered his plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree in Kansas City. The judge set his sentencing for Oct. 3. Robertson pleaded guilty to four of the 26 counts against him and could face up to 20 years in prison for either the money laundering or export violations convictions.

According to prosecutors, starting in October 2020, the defendants sought to sell electronics that included threat detection systems and flight, navigation and communications controls, to two Russian aircraft parts distributors, a Russian aircraft repair firm and a Russian aircraft services company. They sought to hide their unlicensed activities by going through companies and using bank accounts elsewhere, including Armenia, Cyprus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the United Arab Emirates.

“Those who seek to profit by illegally selling sophisticated U.S. technology to our adversaries are putting the national security of our country at risk,” Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, said in a statement.

One of Robertson’s attorneys, Branden Bell, declined to comment when reached Wednesday.

U.S. export controls were meant to limit Russia’s access to computer chips and other products needed to equip a modern military. The indictment against Robertson said the electronics he and the other two men sought to export “could make a significant contribution” to another nation’s military.

Robertson, a commercial pilot, and Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, an aviation engineer from Lawrence, operated the KanRus Trading Co. together and worked with Oleg Chistyakov, a Latvian citizen who frequently traveled to the UAE, according to prosecutors.

Buyanovsky pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiring to launder money and one count of conspiring to commit crimes against the U.S., and his sentencing is set for Nov. 14. There is no indication of whether Chistyakov has been taken into custody, and he has yet to enter a plea, according to online court records.

The indictment charging the three men lists nine exports of aviation electronics to Russian companies from February 2021 through December 2022 and attempts to export electronics once in February 2022 and twice in March 2023.

Prosecutors have said the U.S. government seized $450,000 in electronics blocked from export the day before Buyanovsky and Robertson were arrested.

“Robertson’s guilty plea is reflective of the strong evidence gathered against him by federal investigators and the solid case presented by federal prosecutors,” Kate E. Brubacher, the chief federal prosecutor in Kansas, said in a statement.

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