KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As a freshman at Clemson, Justyn Ross emerged as a rising star with a bright NFL future.
He racked up 46 catches for 1,000 yards with nine touchdowns, including six receptions for a game-high 153 yards and a 74-yard TD in a lopsided CFP National Championship rout of Alabama.
The sky was limit for Ross, but injuries, including the discovery of a congenital neck condition, pumped the brakes on the Justyn Ross hype train.
After returning to the field, a foot injury in November 2021 ended his college career.
He then went undrafted in 2022 before signing with the Chiefs, who put him on injured reserve after a recurrence of the foot injury in training camp last summer.
But Ross made waves this offseason and the Justyn Ross hype train pulled out of the station again.
Ross caught a touchdown in his first on-field action in nearly two years, finishing with two catches for 29 yards and a score in the preseason opener at New Orleans.
He followed that up with two more catches for 18 yards at Arizona before capping the preseason with two more catches for 12 yards and another touchdown against Cleveland.
Combined with his standout workouts in training camp, Chiefs Kingdom was abuzz about his potential as a red-zone threat and potential growth into a weapon for Patrick Mahomes and the offense.
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But Ross hasn’t seen the field much for Kansas City in its first four games.
He played a career-high 29 offensive snaps in the Chiefs’ blowout win against Chicago, but was only targeted one time.
Ross hasn’t played more than nine offensive snaps in Kansas City’s other three games and has one catch, a six-yard reception in the season-opening loss to Detroit, on the season.
With the Chiefs’ wide receiving corps struggling to produce in 2023, it’s fair to wonder if Ross could make an impact — and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy seemed to indicate there’s a flicker of hope.
“Just keep doing what he’s doing in practice, which is working hard and trying to learn the different positions in the offense,” Nagy said when asked what the second-year receiver needs to do to become more involved in the offense. “We’re learning what routes he does well. He’s learning what routes he can get better at. Then, as coaches and teachers, we’ve got to develop him and continue to make him be better.”
It’s the chicken and the egg. Ross may need to prove he can be productive in limited reps to earn more opportunities.
“When you get an opportunity — whenever that is, whether that’s today, this weekend or in five weeks from now — make the most of it,” Nagy said.
For now, Ross remains a work in progress, and Kansas City is preaching patience.
“His attitude has been phenomenal, he’s very talented,” Nagy said. “Let’s just keep developing him as coaches.”
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