Marquez Valdes-Scantling took his talents from Green Bay to the Kansas City Chiefs last season and hauled in 42 passes for 687 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Is that an overwhelming fantasy football stat line? No, but the 42 catches were a career-high, and anybody with usage in a Patrick Mahomes-led offense deserves your attention.
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Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s Fantasy Outlook
It must be nice to be MVS. After four seasons catching passes from Aaron Rodgers, he moved to Mahomes. That said, the fact that his next 700-yard season will be his first and that he has scored only 15 times in 76 games is worrisome.
JuJu Smith-Schuster went to New England this offseason, leaving us again without a true WR1 in Chiefs Kingdom.
Second-round pick Rashee Rice caught 96 balls for 1,355 yards and 10 scores last season at SMU, offering a level of upside while the oft-injured Kadairus Toney (2021 first-round pick by the Giants) and Skyy Moore (Kansas City’s second-round pick last season) will also compete for targets.
As per usual, Travis Kelce is the alpha in this passing game, and until we see Father Time put up a fight, we have to assume that he continues to be a target magnet. Isiah Pacheco is the feature back for the Chiefs and offers some nice upside but isn’t a factor in the passing game.
While he won’t demand looks, Jerick McKinnon proved down the stretch of last season that getting him chances in space is valuable … just another option for Mahomes to spread the ball around to.
Is He the Favorite To Lead This WR Room in Fantasy Points?
I don’t think so, but he would be my bet to lead this WR corps in big games (15+ fantasy points), and that’s enough to make him valuable to fantasy managers.
You’re not leaving your draft counting on any of these receivers on a weekly basis, so I’m happy to take the upside and just hope MVS connects on a big play in the rare instances that I play him.
MORE: 2023 Fantasy Player Projections
Does the WR1 in Kansas City even matter? Maybe not. In Weeks 1-5, no Chiefs WR went over 90 yards. In Weeks 8-18, the Chiefs once again had zero WRs go over 90 yards. A Chiefs WR reached 14.5 fantasy points just seven times … six individual WRs had more such games in the league.
That said, there is validity to chasing the idea of a cheap receiver emerging as “the guy” in Kansas City. There were 13 instances last season in which a receiver saw at least seven targets, and seven looks from Mahomes is worthy of a starting spot in most fantasy leagues.
Should Fantasy Managers Draft Valdes-Scantling at His ADP?
Yeah, I think you should. In the late stages of the draft, every player comes with warts, and MVS is no different (lack of consistency). But not every player comes with Valdes-Scantling’s per-target upside.
At this stage in the draft, the Round 13 range, MVS is on my shortlist, with Rashid Shaheed and Jalin Hyatt as two guys I am actively targeting. You have to be aware of the down weeks, but the ceiling outcomes are a worthwhile gamble here!