{"id":1807122,"date":"2026-06-30T13:45:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/?p=1807122"},"modified":"2026-06-30T13:45:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:45:47","slug":"history-says-this-is-a-boom-or-bust-season-for-jalen-royals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/history-says-this-is-a-boom-or-bust-season-for-jalen-royals\/","title":{"rendered":"History says this is a boom or bust season for Jalen Royals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Kansas City Chiefs desperately need more production from their wide receivers this season. Rashee Rice has had well-publicized issues just being available. Xavier Worthy has been mildly productive through two seasons but hasn't lived up to his draft slot yet, and Tyquan Thornton is trying to build off flashes<\/a> from last season to prove he isn't a complete bust in the NFL. With the Chiefs only spending a fifth-round pick on Cyrus Allen<\/a> this offseason to upgrade the position, the door is certainly open for last season's fourth-round pick, Jalen Royals, to carve out a role.<\/p>\n

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The Kansas City Chiefs desperately need more production from their wide receivers this season. Rashee Rice has had well-publicized issues just being available. Xavier Worthy has been mildly productive through two seasons but hasn’t lived up to his draft slot yet, and Tyquan Thornton is trying to build off flashes<\/a> from last season to prove he isn’t a complete bust in the NFL. With the Chiefs only spending a fifth-round pick on Cyrus Allen<\/a> this offseason to upgrade the position, the door is certainly open for last season’s fourth-round pick, Jalen Royals, to carve out a role.<\/p>\n

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Royals was a complete non-factor as a rookie last year. Despite KC's issues and needs at the position last season, Royals could only muster 2 receptions for 4 yards. Despite the season being completely lost, they still chose to give veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster (who was clearly not part of their long-term plans<\/a>) over 600 offensive snaps rather than seeing what they had in Royals. Perhaps that was because Royals wasn't ready, or perhaps that was because Andy Reid is too stubborn when it comes to how he brings rookie wide receivers along, but the fact is that Royals hasn't been able to prove anything in the NFL yet.<\/p>\n

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Royals was a complete non-factor as a rookie last year. Despite KC’s issues and needs at the position last season, Royals could only muster 2 receptions for 4 yards. Despite the season being completely lost, they still chose to give veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster (who was clearly not part of their long-term plans<\/a>) over 600 offensive snaps rather than seeing what they had in Royals. Perhaps that was because Royals wasn’t ready, or perhaps that was because Andy Reid is too stubborn when it comes to how he brings rookie wide receivers along, but the fact is that Royals hasn’t been able to prove anything in the NFL yet.<\/p>\n

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History isn't on Jalen Royals' side<\/h2>\n

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History isn’t on Jalen Royals’ side<\/h2>\n

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The bad news for Royals (and the Chiefs) is that recent history says that if he doesn't have a huge jump in production this season, he likely never will. There were 59 wide receivers who had 500 receiving yards or more last season. Of those 59, none of them had a rookie season as unproductive as Jalen Royals, and almost all of them had proved they belonged in the NFL by their second season.<\/p>\n

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The bad news for Royals (and the Chiefs) is that recent history says that if he doesn’t have a huge jump in production this season, he likely never will. There were 59 wide receivers who had 500 receiving yards or more last season. Of those 59, none of them had a rookie season as unproductive as Jalen Royals, and almost all of them had proved they belonged in the NFL by their second season.<\/p>\n

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We aren't even talking about what it takes to become a true superstar wide receiver, just to be a solid 500-yard receiving contributor. If anyone is holding out hope that Royals could be a true No. 1 receiver someday, the best examples to look at for "late bloomers" are Nico Collins and Davante Adams. However, while neither of them put up huge numbers in their first two seasons, Collins still combined for 70 receptions for 927 yards in his first two seasons, and Adams put up a combined 88 receptions for 929 yards. Royals would need a massive breakout in Year 2 to come close to those numbers.<\/p>\n

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We aren’t even talking about what it takes to become a true superstar wide receiver, just to be a solid 500-yard receiving contributor. If anyone is holding out hope that Royals could be a true No. 1 receiver someday, the best examples to look at for “late bloomers” are Nico Collins and Davante Adams. However, while neither of them put up huge numbers in their first two seasons, Collins still combined for 70 receptions for 927 yards in his first two seasons, and Adams put up a combined 88 receptions for 929 yards. Royals would need a massive breakout in Year 2 to come close to those numbers.<\/p>\n

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The baseline for a successful Year 2<\/h2>\n

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The baseline for a successful Year 2<\/h2>\n

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Looking over those 59 wide receivers who put up at least 500 receiving yards last season, these six receivers had the least production through their first two seasons in the NFL.<\/p>\n

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Looking over those 59 wide receivers who put up at least 500 receiving yards last season, these six receivers had the least production through their first two seasons in the NFL.<\/p>\n

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Mack Hollins:<\/p>\n

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Mack Hollins:<\/p>\n

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