Justyn Ross is Going To Be Amazing for Kansas City This Season
The Chiefs signed the star Clemson WR who went undrafted
He missed nearly two years but he was an offensive threat in college
Just two years after having spinal surgery, he came back on the field and played his final season at Clemson. Then came the 2022 NFL Draft, he is a wide receiver who had first-round talent. After all, Clemson produces excellent talent at that position and has consistently done so over the years such as Mike Williams, DeAndre Hopkins, Hunter Renfrow, and Tee Higgins.
Justyn Ross, at Clemson, despite missing two years for recovery from his surgery, still accumulated 158 receptions with 2,379 yards and 20 touchdowns in 38 games. He’s definitely an offensive threat but I’m sure he went undrafted because of his injury concerns and his rare medical condition.
Rare spinal condition kept teams away as they saw the potential for major injury issues
The name of the congenital disorder he has is called Klippel-Feil Syndrome. It is basically a medical condition in which his neck vertebrae are fused abnormally. I can see why this would be a concern to any NFL team. That’s why all of the teams passed him during the NFL Draft. Kansas City sees enough talent in him though to take a chance on him despite major injury issues.
Another weapon for Mahomes to throw to in the offense with high-risk-reward
He will be in a great situation in Kansas City as he now positions himself as long as he stays healthy as a reliable option for Patrick Mahomes. This will definitely be a big help, especially considering the departure of Tyreek Hill to Miami in the offseason. When Ross is healthy, he will be a weapon at best that teams will have to worry about defending alongside Juju Smith-Schuster, Travis Kelce, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, along with Josh Gordon and Mecole Hardman.
This is definitely a high-risk-reward move for Kansas City given the circumstances but my hunch tells me that this is going to yield more reward than risk and that the Chiefs have found a suitable replacement for Hill’s speed and production. He’s not nearly as fast as Hill as he only clocked at 4.85 in his 40 time and the fastest receiver was a sub 4.4 but he’s a big target and he can catch the ball.
He will be aided by a winning culture and he can be helpful in the slot and near the line
I feel like Justyn Ross’ development will definitely be aided by winning as he did in college and being on a team as talented as Kansas City even without the talent of Hill on the team anymore. First of all, Hill is a smaller receiver. In Ross, they are getting a relative giant at 6'4", and 205 pounds. He will be a more ideal red-zone target that teams will have to watch for in the endzone. It won’t just be Travis Kelce when they’re within the 20.
Even though he’s an outside receiver, he can also line up in the slot which will help him easily make the team on 3-receiver sets or more. He can line up in the slot and run quick routes for Mahomes to get the ball out quicker when under pressure. He doesn’t just have to go to Kelce for those quick-outs.
They lost Darrel Williams to free agency. This was a big loss for players who can catch the ball near the line of scrimmage. He was the most talented pass-catcher at running back for the Chiefs this past season. It’ll be helpful to have another receiver like Ross close to the line.
It didn’t affect him before, how will it affect him now? Plus he’ll be at the highest level to figure it out and the future is bright
How am I so confident that his congenital neck deformity will affect his play this season? One, he had spinal surgery which addressed some injury issues. He had a foot injury last season but it was unrelated to his spinal and neck issues. He played football for long before he was diagnosed officially and rose to the level he got to without major issues.
Also, it’s not like the NFL medical staff won’t be monitoring his progress and giving him tips on how to take care of his body throughout his career. He’s going to be one of those guys the league wished that they had taken a chance on.
Being undrafted and signed by such a good team was almost a steal at this point by Kansas City. He’s got great hands and he will be a force for years to come in the league with plenty of red-zone targets and plenty of chances to develop with some great players. Justyn Ross’ future looks bright and so does the future of the Kansas City Chiefs.
