Marquez Valdes-Scantling 2022 NFL Player Outlook: The New Deep Threat In KC
3 years agoLast year was not one to call home about for new Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Not only did he post career-low marks in all receiving categories except touchdowns (55 targets, 26 receptions, 430 yards, three TDs), but he also missed six games entirely in what turned out to be his last year playing in the Frozen Tundra under the passing arm of future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. That last point should worry MVS that much, though, given his next stop in the NFL.
With Patrick Mahomes as his new quarterback, the 27-year-old will have that part of his equation solved in Kansas City. The problem, though, is that he's going from an offense in which he was the 2A/2B to Davante Adams' clear WR1 role to another one in the Chiefs' in which he will have to fight mightily for a steadily-fed role down the receiving depth chart. Yes, even with Tyreek Hill off to South Beach. Valdes-Scantling will be fighting for targets with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore, and of course, TE Travis Kelce. No slouch of a unit that Kansas City has built primarily out of scraps and discards (plus Kelce), thus (most probably) balancing the outcome and killing any potential wild ego and loud voice. The former 2018 fifth-round pick comes from an offense he already had to battle for looks, so this is not a genuine concern. That said, tame your expectations when assessing MVS fantasy upside as he shouldn't be scoring more than 9.0-to-10 FP per game, let alone top 75 targets or 50 receptions next year in the main statistical categories.