Patrick Mahomes says Kadarius Toney ‘looks like KT’ in practice, WR’s return ‘a huge positive’ for Chiefs

It’s looking more and more like the Kansas City Chiefs will have their full complement of offensive weapons available when they take the field on Thursday night to defend their Super Bowl title. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said over the weekend that wide receiver Kadarius Toney is “good to go” in his return from the knee injury that kept him out for most of training camp. 

One person who’s very excited about what Toney can bring to the table: Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. 

“The talent that he has, the competitor that he is — to be able to go out there and have that weapon would definitely be a huge positive,” Mahomes said of Toney during his media availability, via USA Today. “He’s done a great job in the practices that he’s been in so far, and I’m looking forward to him continuing to step up and be even better and be more like his normal self.

“Honestly going out there the first few days and seeing him, he looks like KT. I’m excited for that, he put a lot of time in that rehab process so that he can get himself ready, hopefully, to play in this first week.”

Toney arrived in Kansas City midway through last season and made an immediate impact in limited action, catching 6 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown and rushing twice for 33 yards in his first two games, only to suffer yet another injury in his third contest. That injury kept him out for three games and then limited him the rest of the way, but he made a significant impact in Kansas City’s Super Bowl run, including a touchdown catch and ripping off a 65-yard punt return to set up a score in the victory over the Eagles.

Throughout the offseason he was expected to operate as Kansas City’s No. 1 wideout this year, but the injury could limit him to being more of a package player early in the year. Considering his extensive injury history, the Chiefs might be better off limiting his reps and using him for designed touches in order to keep him healthy. With his explosiveness and elusiveness, he could make a pretty big impact even if that were the case.