The Kansas City Chiefs are slated to host former Jacksonville Jaguars WR Zay Jones on a free agent visit on Thursday, May 9.
A former second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2017 NFL draft, the 29-year-old is a seven-year NFL veteran who spent his last two seasons in Jacksonville after a three-year stint with the Las Vegas Raiders. He's recorded 287 career catches for 3,028 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns since his rookie campaign back in 2017.
Jones appeared in just seven games last season due to a recurring knee sprain, but he still managed practically 400 receiving yards and two touchdowns in those seven games. He had the best season of his career back in 2022, with 82 receptions for 823 yards and five touchdowns.
The Chiefs appear to be his final stop for Jones in a tour that included the Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, and Dallas Cowboys.
This is less about Chiefs WR Rashee Rice's situation than you might think
Your first inclination might be to think about the latest situation with Rashee Rice, along with a potential suspension of the second-year receiver during the 2024 NFL season, and think this move to bring Jones in for a visit is directly related. That'd be a mistake because these two players are hardly alike.
853 of Rice's 1,200 total yards last season (incl. playoffs) came after the catch. That's over 71% of Rice's total yards. In his best NFL season, not even 34% of Jones' receiving yardage total came after the catch. Maybe the Chiefs feel they can use Jones better than he's been used in a similar type of role, but that could just be wishful thinking at this point of his NFL career.
Now, there was some indication that Rice, who played practically half his snaps in the slot in 2023, could be playing more of his snaps out wide in 2024. With the addition of players like Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy, that could certainly make some sense. Jones also played over 71% of his snaps aligned out wide in 2023. Even so, Jones is a wholly different type of wide receiver from Rice, even if they share a similar body type (6-foot-2 and over 200 pounds).
Where Zay Jones wins and could win for the Chiefs
The Chiefs lost a wide receiver who was a physical presence and did a lot of the dirty work for K.C. when they cut Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Should Jones be signed, it would help offset some of that loss. For instance, both players had a comparable number of run-blocking snaps in 2023 and graded out virtually the same. It might not be sexy, but Andy Reid has proven time and time again that he loves receivers who are willing to block.
As far as his receiving skill set, the Jaguars often used Jones on short and intermediate over routes to pick up quick gains and move the sticks. His 49 first downs in 2022 ranked 23rd in the NFL among receivers that season. He was pacing for around 30 first downs in 2023 had he not lost time to injury. Travis Kelce is the team's top chain-mover, but adding a receiver with that skill set certainly opens things up.
Jones is also not afraid to work over the middle of the field and makes some catches in tight windows. He had a lot of trust from Trevor Lawrence in those areas of the field. Jones even has some moments on tape reminiscent of JuJu Smith-Schuster's role in Kansas City in 2022. He doesn't have the speed or releases to win consistently downfield, but he's got a mean double move in his arsenal. Still, that's probably something you keep in your back pocket for a rainy day.
The biggest reason this move would make sense for Kansas City
Jones has a big advantage that other receivers who remain free agents at this time simply don't have should he sign with Kansas City. He played for former Chiefs OC Doug Pederson for the last two seasons with the Jaguars. While Pederson doesn't run the exact same system that his mentor Andy Reid does, there is still quite a bit of scheme, concept, and language overlap. New Chiefs backup QB Carson Wentz spoke about how he expected things to make sense quickly in Kansas City because of being coached by Pederson in Philadelphia. Last year, RT Jawaan Taylor indicated the same.
Given that Andy Reid's offense is one that's considered notoriously tough for wide receivers to pick up in short order, any sort of advantage in learning it quickly is huge. That's especially the case for a player who could wind up as a one-year free agent signing and needs to hit the ground running.
More must-reads: