Jalen Royals gives the Chiefs some Rashee Rice insurance (and more) on Day 3

The Kansas City Chiefs have given Patrick Mahomes a brand new weapon and have bolstered an underrated position of need at wide receiver with their first pick on Day 3.

With their 5th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft—and No. 133 overall in the fourth round—the Chiefs have added Jalen Royals, a talented wideout from Utah State.

Royals has some nice production at Utah State over the last two years, including a 15-touchdown campaign in 2023, which led the nation. Royals had 126 catches for 1,914 and 21 total touchdown receptions over the last two years.

There are a lot of reasons to like Jalen Royals for 2025 and beyond for the Chiefs.

The wide receiver room is already looking good on paper with the emergence of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice as such formidable pieces. Hollywood Brown is another impressive player to add to the mix, giving the Chiefs an enviable trio of pass catchers overall.

That said, the Chiefs' offense has looked rather average over the last two seasons as the defense has done much of the heavy lifting. That's largely due to injuries—last year, specifically, to Brown and Rice—which raises questions marks for the coming season.

Royals gives Andy Reid's offense that much more stability and versatility for the coming season and beyond as a player who can be moved inside and out. If Rice misses time due to a suspension and/or has concerns coming back strong from injury, Royals is a nice fallback option there that allows the team to be patient.

Beyond that, Royals is an improvement on JuJu Smith-Schuster, who isn't generating the sort of yards after catch that he did a few seasons ago in K.C. The Chiefs now have significant depth there with another physical target who can help supplant Rice or play alongside him.

Given the departures of Mecole Hardman and Justin Watson, there was room for the Chiefs to raise the floor and improve the long-term depth at wideout while adding the specific enticing skils of Royals to the offense.

The Chiefs still have four selections remaining on day three of the draft:

• Round 5 (No. 164)
• Round 7 (No. 226)
• Round 7 (No. 251)
• Round 7 (No. 257)