Kansas City Chiefs WR Justin Ross has an unstoppable train of hype surrounding him this offseason. It’s so prevalent within Chiefs Kingdom, that his name is now picking up steam at the national media level.
Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager recently revealed his top-5 breakout wide receiver candidates for the 2023 NFL season. Ross came in at No. 5 on his list.
“Number five is Justin Ross,” Schrager said. “I’ve got practice footage of No. 8 Justin Ross making a play. Ross was an undrafted free agent out of the University of Clemson a couple of years ago. He had the injury and yet everyone has talked about Justin Ross for two years in Kansas City circles. Like, ‘Just wait until we get Ross on the field.’ This was the one play you saw last week and it was from the Chiefs’ (Twitter) account and you were like, ‘Ah! He’s coming! It’s Justin Ross time.’”
The aforementioned practice footage shows Ross beating second-year CB Nazeeh Johnson on a deep route in team drills. There seems to be a good blend of internal excitement from the team and hype for the fans with Ross — who spent last season on injured reserve following surgery to repair a foot injury after signing with KC as an undrafted free agent.
There’s some legitimate concern about his ability to stay healthy and on the field long-term. However, should he stay on the field, opportunity is an area that Schrager thinks could benefit Ross.
“When you look at this roster at the wide receiver position, they lost JuJu (Smith-Schuster), they lost (Mecole) Hardman. In years past they lost other players,” Schrager said. “Who is going to step up? (Marquez) Valdes-Scantling was the guy against the Bengals. (Kadarius) Toney was awesome in the Super Bowl. (Justin) Watson, we know his name. You’ve got the second-round pick (Rashee) Rice. You got (Skyy) Moore last year. Richie James from the Giants. Justin Ross just might be a guy to watch.”
At the same time, he recognized just how bold this claim is. Ross is a virtual unknown in the NFL, which would make a breakout all the more exciting.
“He’s never played in an NFL regular season game,” Schrager said. “He was not drafted. When you talk about breakout players, guys who are not getting buzz nationally, but may be getting buzz locally. And (they) could be a player like, ‘Where did this guy come from?’ Justin Ross.”
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Story originally appeared on Chiefs Wire