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Mahomes: Chiefs will use 'everybody' to replace Hill

Jamie Squire / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes believes it will take a group effort to replace departed star wide receiver Tyreek Hill this season.

"That's what you're going to see with this offense this year,'' Mahomes said Thursday, according to ESPN's Adam Teicher. "It's going to be everybody. It's not all going to be one guy. Obviously (tight end Travis Kelce) is still going to get a lot of completions, a lot of yards, but the whole receiving room is going to have big days, and that can be something we use to our advantage.

"It's a very deep receiving room. It's hard to tell which guys are going to make it because we've got so many good receivers. That's what you want. You want that competition. You want guys competing every single day to make the roster because they're going to help us in the end."

Hill's trade request after extension talks with the Chiefs stalled was arguably one of the biggest surprises of a drama-filled NFL offseason. The team shipped him to the Miami Dolphins in late March for a package that included a first-round pick.

The 28-year-old speedster led the Chiefs with 111 catches for 1,259 yards and nine touchdowns last season, while no other wideout on the team exceeded 700 yards.

Kansas City aggressively worked to rebuild its receiver group, with free agents JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling signing one- and three-year deals, respectively.

The reigning AFC West champions also drafted Skyy Moore in the second round and added former Clemson star Justyn Ross as an undrafted free agent. Ross was viewed as a possible first-round selection before being diagnosed with a congenital spinal condition and missing the entire 2020 season.

Mahomes got to grips with his new weapons during workouts he organized in Texas.

"I think we got some chemistry in ... working out with them, throwing with them, we'd go to lunch, we'd go to dinner, stuff like that,'' Mahomes said. "You kind of build chemistry.

"I think it's translated. So far in the practices, we feel like we're on the same page ... and we're going to keep building on that."

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