More trouble brewing for Patrick Mahomes as Chiefs WR ruled out for 2022 NFL season

Patrick Mahomes lost his top wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, this offseason as he was traded to the Miami Dolphins. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback will be down a receiver entering the upcoming season.

Justyn Ross, who was signed as an undrafted free agent, will miss the 2022-23 season and has been placed on the injured reserve list. Ross recently underwent surgery on his foot. He spent his collegiate career with the Clemson Tigers, playing four years with the team.

In 2018, he had an impressive freshman season with the Tigers, registering 46 receptions with 1,000 yards receiving and nine touchdowns. Ross averaged 21.7 yards per reception that year, the best in the ACC and the fifth-most in all of college football.

His 1,000 receiving yards were good for the fifth-most in the ACC, with nine touchdowns tied for second in the conference. Ross' Clemson teammate and current Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins had more that year (12).

The following year, Ross had 66 receptions for 865 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. He placed eighth in the ACC in both receptions and touchdowns in 2019. After opting out of the 2020 season, he had 514 yards receiving on 46 receptions and three touchdowns last year.

Ross ranks 10th in Clemson football history in career receiving yards with 2,379 yards and is tied for fifth with 20 touchdown receptions.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' receiving core in 2022

New Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

With Ross' rookie season over, Mahomes will have to lean on two of the wideouts signed by the team this offseason. The team signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal after he spent the first five seasons of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kansas City also signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a three-year, $30 million contract after four seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Between Schuster and Valdes-Scantling, they have 39 career touchdown receptions: Schuster (26) and Valdes-Scantling (13). The team drafted receiver Skyy Moore in the second round of this year's draft out of Western Michigan.

There's no replacing the production of Hill, who was a Pro Bowler in all six of his seasons with Kansas City and a three-time All-Pro.

However, there's no ignoring the seven-time Pro Bowl and three-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce as a target. Let's see how Mahomes fares with his new look of wideouts entering this season as Mahomes looks for another stellar year in the air.