Super Bowl Positional Preview: Wide Receivers & Tight Ends

We are just a few days away from the season finale of the 2024 NFL season, where the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles, and some of the surrounding questions are about who is going to come out and play at an A+ level.

Both teams have strong wideouts that quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, and Jalen Hurts can rely on, so let’s compare the two teams’ wide receiver and tight end groups.

Kansas City has had a wild ride with its wide receivers, forcing the team to be active in free agency during the season.

Rookie Xavier Worthy has proved to be not only one of the top rookies but one of the top receivers. He had 11 receptions for 130 yards and one touchdown in the Chiefs’ two playoff games, leading all K.C. wide receivers.

After Rashee Rice went on season-ending IR, the Chiefs traded for DeAndre Hopkins, who tallied four touchdowns for his new team in the 10 games played with them during the regular season.

JuJu Smith-Schuster returned to Kansas City this season, where he averaged 30 yards per reception in the two postseason matchups.

Hollywood Brown is also back after missing the majority of the regular season due to his clavicle injury suffered in preseason. In the three games he played at the end of the season, he had nine receptions for 91 yards.

The Eagles’ defense will need to make sure they can reduce the number of options Mahomes has and make sure they reduce Worthy’s effectiveness for their offense.

On the opposing side, Philadelphia’s wide receiver room is considered to be one of the best in the league.

A.J. Brown has been a main source of the Eagles’ points since he was acquired via trade with his former team, the Tennessee Titans, during the 2022 draft. Although this season was one of his worst ones statistically, he still led his team in receiving yards with 1,079.

DeVonta Smith has also been an effective playmaker for Philadelphia, catching eight touchdown passes this season, the most among his team.

This is Jahan Dotson’s first year in Philadelphia, where he averaged 11.4 yards per reception this season and has one touchdown that came in his first-ever postseason game when the Eagles defeated the Packers.

The Chiefs’ defense is expected to shift their focus to watching who is open out wide to give Hurts fewer numbers to work with.

While Kansas City has done well in filling the shoes of Rice, it does not stack up to the power of Philadelphia’s trio of Brown, Smith, and Dotson.

The tight ends on both teams are two of the best in the league and both have experience in multiple Super Bowls on both the winning and losing sides.

Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce is arguably the greatest tight end to ever play the game, and his postseason stats prove it.

He ranks first in postseason receptions all-time and set a record this year for the most career playoff games with 100 receiving yards or more.

Kelce led his team in receiving yards this year in both the regular season and postseason, with 823 yards in the regular season and 136 yards in the postseason.

Expect the Eagles’ defense to have double coverage on Kelce for a good portion of the game as they will need to make Mahomes’ favorite target unavailable if they want to limit the number of points scored against them.

But Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert has been no stranger to his team as he also leads his team in postseason receptions with 188 yards in three games.

He also tallied three touchdowns for his team, including one in the postseason.

The Chiefs’ defense will also need to keep a close eye on Goedert if they are hoping to bring down his high postseason numbers, as this will be his third time around in the Super Bowl environment.

While Goedert is a top player for Philadelphia, Kansas City has the advantage with Kelce as one of its biggest playmakers.

The 2025 Super Bowl kicks off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. EST on FOX.

Ashley Mascaro is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email aem6398@psu.edu.