Unexpected Kansas City Chiefs news surfaced on December 1, as KC worked out three wide receivers ahead of their Week 14 matchup with the Houston Texans.
According to The Athletic’s Jesse Newell and the NFL transaction log, they were 25-year-old WR Erik Ezukanma, 25-year-old WR Jha’Quan Jackson, and 23-year-old WR Joaquin Davis.
In announcing the news, Newell noted that there were “returners” among this group of wide receiver tryouts, but not all of these prospects have experience returning the ball, making this a curious move by Kansas City.
Of the three, Jackson has plenty of experience on special teams. The 5-foot-9 wide receiver returned 36 kickoffs at Tulane for an average of 21.44 yards per return. He also returned 60 punts for over 11 yards per return.
In 2024, at the NFL level, Jackson returned kickoffs and punts for the Tennessee Titans, with a yards per return average of 25.8 yards on the former.
The other two are not returners and have no experience in that area.
Ezukanma is a 6-foot-2 wideout who played for Texas Tech and the Miami Dolphins. He’s a four-year veteran who has logged 57 career snaps on offense (22 receiving yards) and just 2 snaps on special teams.
Finally, Joaquin Davis is a 6-foot-4 undrafted rookie who spent some time with the division rival Denver Broncos this summer. He did not play special teams at NC Central in college, with 92 career receptions for 1,211 yards at the FCS level.
It’s unclear why the Chiefs are looking at wide receivers this week.
Chiefs Work Out 5 Offensive Tackles Ahead of Week 14 vs. Texans
With starting offensive tackles Josh Simmons and Jawaan Taylor both banged up following Week 13, the Chiefs also worked out five free agent offensive tackles ahead of the Texans matchup.
The most notable OT tryout was former Pittsburgh Steelers swing tackle Zach Banner, who is turning 32 years old in late December.
Standing at 6-foot-8, Banner has logged 31 career appearances between the regular season and the playoffs combined. However, his career was derailed by a major injury, and he has not suited up for an NFL game since 2021.
Along with Banner, former Tennessee Titans third-round pick Nicholas Petit-Frere was among the workouts. The 25-year-old was rushed into the starting right tackle role in Tennessee as a rookie, but never panned out. He’s appeared in 34 games, starting 28 of them.
The other three tryouts were 25-year-old Matt Waletzko, a 6-foot-8 blocker formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, 27-year-old veteran D’Ante Smith, and 27-year-old journeyman Zachary Thomas.
The WR workouts may not make sense, but these OT ones certainly do.
Should Chiefs Fans Read Into WR News?
Several Chiefs fans on social media took this workout news as KC looking to replace Nikko Remigio as their returner. In the case of Jackson, that could be true, but the other two WRs would not be special teams signings.
It’s hard to know what to make of this surprise Monday tryout.
Kansas City is notably deep at the wide receiver position, and these players would be buried in their ranks if they were signed. So, what should Chiefs Kingdom make of this decision?
It’s possible KC is just refreshing their short list of WR candidates with a few available prospects that they liked enough to take a closer look at. Reserve/future signings are coming in a month or so, and the Chiefs tend to be overprepared rather than the alternative.
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