Chiefs Predicted to Make ‘Bold’ Move to Land $82.5 Million WR

Chiefs Predicted to Make ‘Bold’ Move to Land $82.5 Million WR

The Kansas City Chiefs are on a high after winning back-to-back Super Bowls. However, in order to make a serious run at a three-peat, the Chiefs must enhance at wide receiver.

With the NFL lifting the salary ceiling to $255.4 million, Kansas City now has more wiggle room to make a “bold” decision. ESPN source Aaron Schatz expects that the Chiefs will sign one of the most sought-after pending free agents, Mike Evans.

“It’s hard to critique the team that just won a second straight Super Bowl, but we all know that the Chiefs’ wide receivers were a disappointment,” Schatz said. The Chiefs’ receivers entered the postseason with the most dropped passes in the NFL.

“Start with the market’s best player, who already has a ring...” Evans rated 23rd in DVOA among qualifying wide receivers last season and has had at least 1,000 receiving yards in ten consecutive years.”

Evans, the seventh overall choice in the 2014 NFL draft, inked a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that expired this past season. While Evans has spent his whole career in Tampa Bay, Bleacher Report’s Aaron Schultz reports that the two sides are still “far apart” in their extension conversations. The Bucs incurred $7.4 million in dead money by failing to complete a transaction by February 19.

“He’s money in the red zone, with 13 touchdowns last season,” Schatz said. “Imagine Patrick Mahomes throwing to Evans on one side, Rashee Rice on the other, and Travis Kelce in the center. It’s enough for Chiefs Kingdom to begin preparing another celebration.”

How much would it cost the Chiefs to sign Mike Evans in free agency?

Schatz isn’t the only analyst who sees Evans joining the Chiefs. According to Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report, Kansas City is the “best fit” for the five-time Pro Bowler. While the Chiefs may not be the “most likely” destination, “it’s just fun to imagine the rest of the league swearing as Evans puts pen to paper in Kansas City,” Davenport speculated.

So, how much would it cost to bring Evans to the Chiefs? Davenport predicts the Texas A&M alum to earn a two-year, $42 million contract with $33 million guaranteed.

AtoZ Sports ranked Evans as the NFL’s fifth best pending free agent. “Evans ranked top-10 in receiving yards and yards per route run and top-15 in yards per catch and average depth of target while leading the league in receiving touchdowns,” according to the report.

“Evans can function as a ‘X’ receiver volume target while also serving as one of the best deep targets in the NFL.” An underappreciated route runner, he improved his performance in 2023 while playing in offensive coach Dave Canales’ system, establishing a career best in yards after catch.

The Chiefs are encouraged to draft a wide receiver after signing Mike Evans.

With Evans turning 31 in August, Schatz advises that the Chiefs add insurance in the 2024 NFL draft. “Start preparing for the inevitable by using that No. 32 pick on another wide receiver who can gradually step in over the next couple of years,” the evaluator wrote. “Florida State’s Keon Coleman has similar size and would make a perfect heir apparent to Evans.”

Last season, Coleman had 50 receptions for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus describes Coleman as a “risky” prospect.

“He made some of the best contested catches you’ll ever see last season, but he caught only 33.3% of those opportunities,” Monson said in a statement.

While Coleman might not be in the cards for the Chiefs, drafting a wide receiver in the first round wouldn’t come as a total surprise. As it stands, Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a strong cut-candidate. And it seems likely that Kadarius Toney played his last game in Kansas City.

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