‘I’m here for a reason’: Why Kadarius Toney’s career reset could be vital for Chiefs

Over the last week, the Chiefs designed a couple play schemes that Patrick Mahomes figured would spring newcomer Kadarius Toney to his first NFL touchdown against Jacksonville on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Nevermind that their first and goal call at the 6-yard-line in the first quarter of a scoreless game wasn’t one of them.

Because it became a fitting parallel to the state of a career that only weeks ago appeared to be fizzling out before it really started as the New York Giants had relegated their 2021 top draft pick to an available afterthought.

The play unfurled with Mahomes faking a jet sweep to Toney, who was running right as four other preferred targets spread out to Mahomes’ left or over the middle.

“He was kind of the distraction guy,” Mahomes said.

The best-laid plans: Instead, nobody at all went with Toney, who was Mahomes’ fifth read on the play.

For that matter, even Mahomes had to be reminded he was there. As Mahomes found his other options occupied, he heard “heyyyyyy” from his right.

“‘Who’s yelling at me over there?’” Mahomes playfully recalled thinking before turning and seeing Toney abandoned on the sideline.

Then he sidearmed the ball to Toney, who was so close to falling out of bounds that he hopped the final steps (and then some) into the end zone trying to keep his balance.

In a sense, it was just a moment in time, a short touchdown pass.

But in many ways it also was something quite a lot more for Toney, who had 57 yards receiving and 33 rushing and key plays on each of the Chiefs first three touchdown drives in their 27-17 victory.

“As I was hopping, I was just sitting there thinking, like, ‘What did I do to be in this position?’ ” he said. “How can I thank God any more than to be here?”

Only time will tell if this is a broader godsend for the Chiefs.

But particularly on a day when the Chiefs were without the ailing Mecole Hardman and lost JuJu Smith-Schuster along the way after a chilling helmet-to-helmet hit by Andre Cisco that preposterously went unpenalized, Toney’s promising career seems to have been reanimated through the never-ending churning of general manager Brett Veach and his staff.

After the game, Veach sought out Toney in the locker room and shook his hand and hugged the player he acquired just before the Nov. 1 trade deadline for a 2023 compensatory third-round pick and sixth-round pick. It’s hardly the first time Veach has reached for mid-season help, either through trades (Melvin Ingram) or signings (Le’Veon Bell, Josh Gordon, Mike Pennell, Terrell Suggs) with varying degrees of success.

But this one stands out in a few different ways.

Unlike that group of veterans who really only flourished on the defensive side, Toney is young (23) with an abundantly promising future before him … despite the disconnect and misfit or whatever was going awry in New York.

He also seems an instant fit for the offense who already has earned at least the tentative trust of coach Andy Reid and Mahomes.

Somewhat in contrast to how he apparently came to be viewed by the Giants, for whom he was often hobbled by injuries and fell into disfavor for reasons that remain somewhat vague, Toney has demonstrated dedication and focus that have enabled him to be immersed in the system already.

So much so that the mystery of the moment is less about why the Chiefs went after him than how the Giants could give up on him.

Asked if he already fits in better here than he did in New York, Toney smiled and said, “I don’t want to throw no salt. But … kind of, yeah.”

Asked later to sum up his time in New York, he called it a learning experience and said, “I’m here for a reason.”

And with a purpose befitting a fresh start.

“It’s my job to know what I have to do,” he said. “So why not spend every waking moment, or every moment I’ve got, doing what I’ve got to do?”

Since Toney has been here, Mahomes said, he has been entrenched in the practice facility as much as the relentless Mahomes is.

Having played in New York for offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, the former Chiefs assistant, perhaps gave him some advantage adjusting to terminology and other aspects of this system, Mahomes also suggested.

But the real key is that Toney has been relentless and diligent in his studying and already is well-versed in formations, splits, route combinations and audibles.

“I mean, when you’ve got a guy that’s that talented who wants to learn and get better and better,” Mahomes said, “those are those special players that you want on your team.”

It wasn’t just that Toney on Sunday finally scored a touchdown in his 14th NFL game, a number that’s been hindered by a hamstring injury this season and quad and shoulder injuries and a stint on the Reserve/COVID-19 list last season.

Entering the game Sunday, he had 43 career catches for 432 yards — nearly half of which came in a 10-catch, 189-yard effort against Dallas in 2021 that was marred by his ejection for throwing a punch.

On Sunday, he flashed the athleticism that enabled that production and hints at his capacity toward more ahead.

“He’s a smart kid, and he does pick it up easy,” Reid said, later adding, “We’re trying to give him some things that he’s done before and then adding one or two things the last couple weeks that he’s not used to doing so he can continue to grow.”

Against the Jaguars, Toney also launched the Chiefs second touchdown drive with a 32-yard jet sweep. And that early touchdown reception wasn’t the only time he showed his hops.

Their third TD was set up by his leaping 23-yard catch … in double coverage … with the sun in his eyes as the shadows fell over Arrowhead … and with an illegal contact penalty called on Jacksonville.

If he made it look routine, it wasn’t. But it’s also true, he said, that Mahomes will put you in position to succeed as long as you know where to be to make a play.

We might expect plenty more ahead under a coach and quarterback that figure to look his way more and more this season and in the years to come: The Chiefs are paying him the rest of his salary this season (the remaining base when they acquired him was $784,000) and have him under contract in 2023 at $1.9 million and in 2024 for $2.5 million. The Chiefs then hold his fifth-year option before he can potentially become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

That’s especially appealing given that Hardman will be a free agent after this season, Smith-Schuster is on a one-year contract and rookie Skyy Moore still is struggling to acclimate with seven catches through nine games.

Meanwhile, Toney by all appearances suddenly is poised to thrive here after his misadventure with the Giants.

“I feel like,” he said, “I’m right where I need to be.”