Two games in as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, wide receiver Kadarius Toney is sure of one thing.
“I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
Toney, who was acquired three weeks ago from the Giants for a third- and sixth-round pick, is making the most of his opportunity with the Chiefs. In his first game against Tennessee, Toney caught two passes for six yards before adding four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown last week against Jacksonville. He also carried the ball twice for 33 yards and returned two punts.
He also has caught the attention of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Even though the former first-round pick out of Florida has only been with the Chiefs for a short time, he has already gained Mahomes’ trust. And Toney will look to build off that as the Chiefs hit the road to play the Chargers at 7:20 p.m. Sunday in Los Angeles.
“I wasn’t surprised by him making the plays,” Mahomes said. “But maybe just us being able to move him around as much as we have is a testament to him that he’s gotten here, and he’s learned.
“He’s learned multiple positions, and we’ve moved him around now. It’s not like he’s just in that one spot. And we’ll continue to build on that. We don’t want to overwhelm him and put too much on his plate. But we’re going to keep getting him more and more involved in this offense because he’ll make this offense better as a whole as the season goes on.”
Toney could get his number called a lot Sunday as the Chiefs are suddenly a bit thin at receiver. Mecole Hardman was placed on injured reserve and will miss at least the next four games with an abdominal illness/injury and JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t practice this week as he was in concussion protocol.
Toney, though, said he has been working hard to learn Andy Reid’s offense.
“Spending extra time doing what I got to do to make sure I know what I got to do,” Toney said. “It’s my job to know what I got to do, so why not spend every waking moment I got doing what I got to do?”
It’s easy to see that being traded to Kansas City has lit a fire in Toney, and now he’s hoping to take that next step with the Chiefs. Something he couldn’t do with the Giants.
“I don’t want to throw no salt,” Toney said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to go to New York. I don’t feel this way or that way about it. Everything happens for a reason. I don’t really question God. I’m here for a reason.
“I guess you could say New York was a learning experience. I’m a rookie coming in just trying to learn how the business goes and now I’m here.”
