Five Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers become free agents when the new league year begins. The team needs to invest at least one selection in the 2025 NFL draft in a dynamic new pass catcher for Patrick Mahomes.
The best value picks at wide receiver in this year’s weak class fall outside the first round.
Oregon Ducks wideout Traeshon Holden is 6’1 1/2″, 203 lbs with arms that stretch beyond 32 inches. He primarily lined up out wide for the Ducks but also took more than a quarter of his snaps in the slot throughout 2023 and 2024.
He never developed into a top option in college despite originally signing with Alabama as a four-star recruit but carved out a significant role in a receiving room that included Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart.
Holden quickly releases from the line of scrimmages and makes some sharp cuts to generate immediate separation. However, he’s not twitchy and struggles to defeat press coverage when his chops miss the cornerback’s jams. His ability to generate quick separation comes and goes, but he possesses the tools to become more consistent.
Holden is a springy and explosive athlete with enough speed to stretch the field vertically. He destroys defenses over the deep middle of the field. Defenses using two-high shells need to keep an eye on him at all times. Holden overtakes and pulls away from off-man defenders, but his downfield speed is built up instead of instantaneous. This makes him vulnerable to contact early in the route.
Sheesh Traeshon Holden pic.twitter.com/XTGcFI8PYM
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) December 1, 2024
Holden’s catch radius helped him haul in 61% of his contested catch attempts over the past three seasons. He occasionally suffers from concentration drops but usually tracks the ball well. Holden lacks the elusiveness and contact balance to create after the catch. He displays good effort as a stalk blocker on the perimeter for outside runs and screens.
Holden projects as a mid or late Day 3 selection. He possesses the size and speed to create problems downfield for cornerbacks but lacks the dynamic athleticism to create separation at all three levels of the field. He would provide nice depth behind Kansas City’s preferred starting wide receivers.