Patrick Mahomes: Chiefs See the Talent of Justyn Ross

On the afternoon, the 23-year-old hauled in a pair of passes on four targets — both career bests — for 28 yards. Two of those targets led to drops, highlighting his inexperience and how far he still has to go in his development, but the flashes were there for a player who stood out in a major way during every stage of the offseason. Following Sunday's game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes vouched for Ross's talent as a receiver and said the team will continue to put him out on the field so he can showcase the best of his abilities. 

"I thought he played well," Mahomes said. "Everybody knows he has the talent. He made that big-time catch on that second-and, I think it was 18 or something like that, and some of those other plays. He has the talent. We're going to keep bringing him on, and we're going to keep moving him around in different positions. But there's a lot of young guys out there. We're going to keep everybody moving and going in the right direction and I think by the end of the year, we're going to be dangerous because you're not going to know who's going to get those opportunities throughout the game."

It's been a roller coaster of a ride for Ross, who burst onto the scene as a freshman at Clemson back in 2018 with 46 receptions for 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns. After a productive sophomore campaign, the former ACC standout missed all of his junior season and then played injured to close out his collegiate career before health concerns also caused him to go undrafted in 2022. The Chiefs were believers enough to pick up Ross off the UDFA market, essentially redshirting him for the ensuing season. Once this past offseason started and Ross was healthy, though, all bets were off.

Ross was excellent during organized team activities (OTAs), training camp and the preseason. The hype train filled with team, media and fan-released highlights wasn't slowing down for anyone, then he proceeded to break camp with the team on its 53-man roster. While he's been active in every game thus far in the season, Ross remains stuck on the depth chart as more proven or more high-investment players are seeing the field ahead of him. Week 5 marked his best game as a pro, which says a lot about how his season has gone thus far.

With all of that in mind, the Chiefs aren't giving up on fine-tuning Ross's game and turning him into a productive player. On the contrary, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy spoke a few days in advance of Sunday's game and praised Ross for his work ethic and attitude. Nagy said if Ross made the most of his opportunities, that could potentially lead to more playing time. He made an impact against the Vikings, and Mahomes seems to be on the same page as the coaching staff. Ross is a work in progress, albeit one the franchise is fully behind. This weekend marks another positive step.

"He's picked up what we've given him," Mahomes said. "I think we're just trying to find ways to integrate him in the offense. Like I said, we have a lot of guys, but we see his talent. We see what he can do and the plays he can make. We're trying to do whatever we can to put him in those positions to go out there and make those plays and as he gets more and more comfortable — just like any other rookie, in a sense — we'll keep giving him more and more chances to go out there and make plays."