Zay Flowers Could Be An Ideal Playmaker For The Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs prevailed in Tremendous Bowl LVII on the finish of their first season with out celebrity large receiver Tyreek Hill, having traded him to the Miami Dolphins final offseason. Whereas it could be a stretch to recommend dropping Hill was a case of addition by subtraction, the Chiefs’ offense didn’t lose a step with out him. Now, as they assemble their roster forward of the 2023 marketing campaign, wideout will as soon as once more be an space of focus for the Chiefs.

Kansas Metropolis misplaced considered one of its key contributors at large receiver final yr, Juju Smith-Schuster, in free company final month. After rehabilitating his worth in his lone season with the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster signed with the New England Patriots.

Mecole Hardman additionally departed for the New York Jets, leaving the Chiefs’ depth chart at wideout trying barren past Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore.

There’s a faculty of thought that the Chiefs want so as to add measurement at receiver on this month’s NFL Draft. They’ll possible try this on day two of a draft that will likely be held in Kansas Metropolis, nonetheless, they could discover it onerous to withstand if a wideout whose body is something however imposing falls to them with the ultimate choose of the primary spherical.

At a bit over 5ft 9in and 182 kilos, Zay Flowers is small even for a slot receiver, however in a implausible profession at Boston Faculty, he proved his measurement was no barrier to him shining as a wideout who can thrive from any place within the formation.

The Chiefs already drafted a smaller receiver final yr after they chosen the shifty Moore within the second spherical out of Western Michigan, however Flowers is a special sort of expertise who might step in and turn into an instantaneous playmaker in any respect ranges of the sector for Patrick Mahomes.

Flowers brings inside-out versatility, possessing the talent set to constantly create separation from the surface and the slot. He does so largely due to spectacular change of course skill that allows him to win constantly along with his route-running.

He’s usually capable of defeat protection early along with his launch, recurrently getting the higher of defenders by way of his fluidity in altering course and the explosion he shows out of his breaks when doing so at the beginning of the route. Flowers additionally demonstrates an understanding of how one can assault a defender’s leverage efficiently and infrequently marries his decrease physique with astute head fakes that allow him to create separation.

Not your typical deep risk, Flowers doesn’t have elite velocity, however he’s quick sufficient to keep up downfield separation when he will get a step working downfield. Even when does he not have separation, Flowers’ ball-tracking skill nonetheless permits him to make massive performs. Flowers finds the ball within the air early and excels at adjusting to inaccurate throws, whereas he has recurrently been capable of overcome his measurement deficiencies to win contested-catch battles with larger cornerbacks.

Arguably Flowers’ forte, although, is what he does when he will get the ball in his fingers in open area. Used as a ball-carrier out of the backfield in addition to a standard receiver, he boasts the elusiveness to make defenders miss and possesses an evident second gear.

That extraordinarily well-rounded talent set helped Flowers rack up 16 performs of 20 yards or extra final season. Over his school profession, Flowers averaged 15.3 yards per reception, illustrating the form of big-play skill that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid might put to superb use.

In fact, Reid confirmed how successfully he can deploy versatile wideouts who’re efficient out of the backfield within the Chiefs’ Tremendous Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles, utilizing movement to get each Toney and Moore large open for touchdowns within the fourth quarter.

There may be an argument for the Chiefs prioritising measurement at wideout, particularly after dropping a possession receiver like Smith-Schuster. Nonetheless, the Chiefs have been vastly profitable with two and three-tight finish units, permitting them to get measurement mismatches on the sector and nonetheless excel within the passing sport, lessening the necessity for larger wideouts.

Few coaches can match Reid for various and efficient utilization of his offensive personnel. Flowers would give him an explosive Swiss Military knife to utilise, and his measurement deficiencies may not be a lot of a priority for the Chiefs if he in some way falls into their path at choose 31.