Chiefs Rumors: Jawaan Taylor had a blatant tell in Week 1 loss to Lions
Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor had a debut to forget in Week 1's loss to the Detroit Lions.
Taylor became the lightning rod of controversy on Thursday night when multiple post-game clips showed he was not correctly lined up at the line of scrimmage throughout the game. The ex-Jaguars offensive lineman was spotted constantly moving his right leg and false-starting before the snap; his perceived penalties led many fans to claim Week 1's game was yet another instance of "[Insert team name here] vs. the refs".
Well, the latest videos of Taylor's performance just make him look even worse. Not only was Taylor allegedly committing false starts all game long, but he may have had a blatant tell: Twitter users noticed that Taylor could have been tipping each play call based on the position of his back foot.
Basically, if his stance was wider, the Chiefs were going to run a pass play. If it was narrower, they were going to run a running play,
The Chiefs signed Taylor to a four-year deal last March, and so far, that signing is not panning out well for the reigning Super Bowl champs.
Chiefs Rumors: Where was Justyn Ross on Thursday night?
Amid talk of Kadarius Toney's and Skyy Moore's poor performances in Week 1, one wide receiver was notably left out of the criticism: Justyn Ross.
Ross, who entered the NFL as an undrafted wide receiver in 2022, caught his first pass on Thursday night but otherwise didn't make much of a contribution. Blame it more on his usage in the Chiefs' offensive scheme.
Ross didn't see his first target until the fourth quarter despite serving as a valuable target during preseason. The Clemson product boasts a large frame and solid pass-catching abilities, making him potentially a worthy candidate to absorb some of Travis Kelce's snaps.
However, compared to his peers, Ross only took six offensive snaps and nine special teams snaps against the Lions.
Skyy Moore had 45 offensive snaps to Ross' six, and he hardly made a dent on the stat sheet.
It makes sense as to why the Chiefs would want to put their second-round draft pick on the field rather than a former UDFA, yet with the game on the line, Ross could have made the bigger impact -- had he gotten the chance to, anyway.
We'll see if Andy Reid and the Chiefs try to incorporate Ross into the pass-happy offense in later weeks.
Chiefs Rumors: Mike Evans trade buzz grows louder
After Week 1, almost every Chiefs fan is thinking the same thing: Our wide receivers can't catch a damn ball.
In the inevitable fallout, Bucs' Mike Evans has been named a potential trade target for the Chiefs. Evans, in the final year of his deal, is currently in the middle of a contract standoff with Tampa Bay with an extension looking more and more unlikely. Saturday, Sept. 9, was Evans' self-imposed deadline for getting a deal done, and this afternoon Adam Schefter reported that the Bucs and Evans failed to agree to an extension.
This means Evans will hit free agency in 2024 -- unless a wideout-needy team trades for him first.
CBS Sports listed Evans as a player the Chiefs should consider signing with Bryan DeArdo stating the somewhat obvious: "Evans would immediately become Mahomes' best target not named Kelce."
The NFL trade deadline is October 31, giving the Chiefs plenty of time to assess their options and decide if they want to fork over draft capital for the four-time Pro Bowler. Evans has recorded 1,000-plus receiving yard seasons in every year of his nearly decade-long stint on the Bucs, so his consistency isn't really part of the question.
Given that Kansas City declined to take flyers on DeAndre Hopkins and Odell Beckham Jr. this past offseason when both were free agents, the chances of the team trading for a top wideout -- even if Evans' ceiling is much higher than those two players -- still feels low.
Then again, pinning their dynasty hopes on Travis Kelce staying healthy all season may not be the best idea, especially given the varying timetable of recovery for a hyperextended knee. The ball is in Brett Veach's court now.
