After last Sunday’s game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, Nico Collins was informed that backup quarterback Davis Mills threw his way 15 times in the 36-29 win. Collins, who seemed genuinely surprised by the number, replied, “Yeah, I ain’t know I had 15 targets. It didn’t feel like it, to be honest with you, but, you know, I just made most of my opportunity.”
Now we could choose to look at this one of two ways. First, we could say, Well, in the flow of the game, it’s entirely possible that Collins, or any receiver for that matter, would have no idea how many targets or catches he has.
Playing devil’s advocate, we could also say, Yeah, he’s full of it. All wide receivers are divas and Collins is no different. Of course he knew how many times Davis Mills threw to him.
But what if there were a third alternative?
What if Nico Collins truly didn’t think about, nor care about exactly how many times he’s being targeted throughout the course of a game? Sure, as one play after another goes by, Collins or any receiver could grow frustrated with their lack of involvement, but he doesn’t need to perpetuate the stereotypes often associated with NFL wide receivers.
“It’s a team sport. Not about me. It’s not about yards. Not my targets, man. I just want to win,” Collins told reporters earlier this week. “And at the end of the day take care of your business, take care of the details. You know, targets gonna come, plays gonna come. So for me, man, I just want to win. That’s my biggest goal.”
It’s easy for Collins to say this after a game in which he was targeted a career-high 15 times, capping off a three game stretch in which he’s been targeted at least 10 times in each of those games.
But what happens when Nico Collins isn’t getting all of the targets he could possibly want or handle? Does his approach change at that point?
“Yeah, man, just continue to get open. Continue to run the right routes, and continue to show that you’re out there getting open, and just let the ball come to you, you know,” Collins explained. “Sometimes it might get a little frustrating, but I feel like once you get frustrated, everything else goes downhill, you know?”
Maybe this thought experiment would be better served for a different wide receiver. Nico Collins has seen his targets per game increase in each of his five NFL seasons, and this year, only 11 players in the league are averaging at least 9 targets per game and Collins is one of them.
Whether it be CJ Stroud or Davis Mills under center, there seems to be a mandate to get the ball in the hands of #12.
“Nico is extremely explosive with the ball in his hand. And as many times as we can get him the ball, good things usually happen for us,” Mills told reporters on Thursday. “When he’s playing well, I think our whole offense is going to do well. But I don’t think anything was forced. It was just, Nico’s going to make a play.”
The war of attrition is a natural part of the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs have learned that the hard way as of late. Despite coming off a Week 10 bye, the reigning AFC champs still have some injuries to tend to.
With Sunday’s Week 11 bout against the Denver Broncos approaching, several players popped up on the club’s injury report. Running back Isiah Pacheco topped the list, with plenty of doubt surrounding his status for the weekend.
Speaking to the media on Friday afternoon, head coach Andy Reid added some fuel to that fire.
Reid didn’t confirm that his starting halfback would miss Sunday’s game, but he also did nothing to instill more confidence. If historical Reid trends hold, Pacheco could miss the Chiefs’ Week 11 AFC West showdown in Denver with an MCL sprain.
“Alright, so the only person who didn’t practice today was Pacheco,” Reid said. “Everybody else went.
Earlier this week, Reid made it clear that he’d “have to see” how Pacheco progressed before making a determination on his status. With the former seventh-round pick missing each practice this week, expectations for his ultimate decision became clearer.
UPDATE: Kansas City officially ruled Pacheco out later on Friday afternoon.
Pacheco, now in his fourth season with the Chiefs, has logged 78 carries for 329 yards and a touchdown this year. In the games he’s played, he was on the field for 56.4% of available offensive snaps (307 reps). In his last healthy outing, a 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders, he set a season-high mark with 58 rushing yards. Unfortunately, the Rutgers product sustained the knee injury in the fourth quarter.
With Pacheco out in Week 9’s 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City went with Kareem Hunt as its lead halfback. He led the team in carries (11) and yards (49), also recording a rushing touchdown. Rookie Brashard Smith (3 carries for 7 yards) and 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire (2 carries for 5 yards) supported Hunt.
With a shorthanded running back rotation once again, it’s reasonable to expect Hunt to be leaned on to produce.
Pacheco, while the most pressing, wasn’t the only injured Chief who needed to be accounted for. Two players, wide receiver Xavier Worthy and defensive end George Karlaftis, were limited at practice in various points of the week.
Worthy’s inclusion in the Thursday injury report caught many by surprise. After all, he wasn’t on Week 9’s pre-bye list, leaving most to assume he was past his ankle injury. On the contrary, Reid says the speedy wideout aggravated the issue a bit this week. He was a full participant in Friday’s work, however, according to Reid.
“Xavier, I know, was on that list,” Reid began. “He’s had an ankle. He just tweaked it a little bit, but he was good, good to go. He did everything today, no problem.”
Karlaftis, the Chiefs’ leader in sacks (5) and tackles for loss (7), was limited on both Wednesday and Thursday. Despite his thumb injury, Reid didn’t seem worried about the fourth-year man’s availability for the weekend.
“George did a nice job today, I thought,” Reid said. “Good.”
Kansas City won’t be at 100% health against their division rivals, but things could certainly be worse for them as they look to climb back into the conference playoff picture.