Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City’s head of scouting discussed the team’s new wide receiver and running back on Monday.
Although the Kansas City Chiefs largely focused on the linemen and defense in last weekend’s NFL Draft, the team did add two offensive playmakers on Day 3.
In the fourth round, the Chiefs used the 133rd pick to select Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals — and then closed out their draft by trading up in Round 7 to take SMU running back Brashard Smith with the 228th pick.
The Chiefs’ director of player personnel and college scouting Ryne Nutt discussed both selections during Monday’s media session.
Nutt believes Royals is similar to third-year wideout Rashee Rice, who was headed to stardom before a serious knee injury a month into last season — particularly in their run-after-the-catch (RAC) ability. In 2024, Royals was also off to a monster start before a ligament sprain ended his season.
“When I say he’s like Rashee,” Nutt explained, “he has big hands — strong hands — and he’s very good after the catch. You saw him downfield in some of those clips. The kid had seven 50 [yard] plus touchdowns in 2023. He was on pace in 2024 to smash the 2023 production before he got injured.
“RAC is a big part [of] our offense. That’s something we look for in our receiver. We look for speed; the kid had that. We look for strength. He has that. He’s got RAC. And we look at route running. That’s probably an area where Rashee had to develop a little bit. So, we kind of thought they were similar in that respect.”
Royals got the team’s attention at the Senior Bowl — and also at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“He goes to the Senior Bowl,” Nutt recalled of Royals, “and we thought he did well. He got even more on the radar. He goes to the Combine, and he runs a 4.40 [40-yard dash]. He jumps a 36 [inch vertical]. We’re like, ‘Oh, this kid’s explosive.’
“You get the coaches involved, and we Zoom with them and we talk, and we’re like, ‘We could use this kid.’ With Rashee coming back from injury and trying to get right, the hopes are this kid can step in and get some playing time and help us out.”
Nutt seemed unconcerned with Royals’ main scouting concern: being used almost exclusively on one side of the field.
“That’s how some offenses in college work,” observed Nutt. “They want to go fast, so they will have the receiver line up on the same side every time to do that. You’re wondering, ‘Alright, he’s always playing on the left side, is he going to be able to move around?’ And he does. He plays outside, but he primarily plays inside in the slot.”
Although the Chiefs defied expectations by waiting until the last round before taking a running back, Nutt said that happened because of how the board fell. But...
