KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Needing to rebuild their receiving room after trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs had options when they got to the second round of the NFL draft. They could have, for instance, taken Velus Jones Jr., whose 4.31-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine put him in Hill’s range in terms of speed.
They went instead for Skyy Moore of Western Michigan, who — other than his size at 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds — isn’t similar to Hill at all. That doesn’t mean the Chiefs don’t expect Moore — who ran a 4.41 40 at the scouting combine — to have an impact on the Chiefs’ passing game, though.
“Skyy is unique,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. “He is smaller, but he plays big. He has longer arms. He was a running back that transitioned to wideout. It was funny watching his tape because it seemed like we were watching forever before we saw him drop a pass.
“We have guys like MVS [Marquez Valdes‐Scantling] that has some size and speed, Mecole [Hardman] has speed, JuJu [Smith‐Schuster] is big. So I feel like we have a good combination and now we just wanted to add the best player, regardless of size or height, just guys that we feel are going to come in and be able to contribute right away. Certainly, Skyy is one of those guys.”
The Chiefs, after losing not just Hill but Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson from their top four wide receivers of last season, have a lot of pieces to fit together. Hardman is back but Valdes-Scantling, Smith-Schuster and Moore are new.
Moore has yet to figure out exactly where he fits in.
“I feel like the receiving room I’m walking into has about everything,” he said. “I feel I bring versatility and just another playmaker.”
The Chiefs didn’t get to see much of Moore on their practice field at their recent minicamp for rookies. He was out with a sore hamstring.
“I’m curious to see how he does,” coach Andy Reid said after the rookie camp. “I didn’t get much of a look here. The things [Western Michigan] did with him, he was very good at, whether it was the short or intermediate game or the long game. He could do it all.
“I look forward to seeing him play.”
The Chiefs aren’t yet certain exactly what role Moore might fill. But they are confident he will claim a significant one.
“He’s not the biggest guy, but he is fearless across the middle,” assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi said. “For a smaller guy, he really goes up and gets the ball. So we really feel good about fitting him into this offense with Coach Reid.
“The one thing that sticks out with Skyy is he’s dependable. He’s going to run the right routes and he’s going to catch the ball. … And that’s one thing that stood out with Skyy is any opportunity, contested catches, he was catching the football.”
The Chiefs had Moore in their long line of rookies shagging kicks before the start of rookie camp practices, suggesting they will look at him for that job as well. Moore didn’t return kicks as a regular at Western Michigan.
“The kid’s hands are amazing,” Veach said. “His ball skills are amazing. It obviously makes sense that it would translate to returning.
“I always felt that most skilled receivers or corners can go back there and catch kicks. … I do think his skill set should easily translate to that. But until you do that in a game, you’ll never know. I think he’ll certainly get a look at that.”
Hill got started with the Chiefs as a kickoff and punt returner, scoring five touchdowns in that role in his first three seasons before mostly leaving those jobs to others. Being a dynamic kick returner could wind up as a shared feature between Moore and Hill.
Moore, who caught 95 passes for 1,292 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, sees another.
“I try to make plays,” he said. “[Hill was] a playmaker — I want to do the same.”
Source: www.espn.com