Kansas City Chiefs Stock Report: Week 5 2022 -

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In what was a wild game, the Kansas City Chiefs once again found a way to walk away with a win against a division opponent. The offense stormed back after a slow start. Meanwhile, the Chiefs defense bent but did not fully break just enough to come out on top. With a 30-29 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City heads into their highly anticipated matchup with the Buffalo Bills at 4-1.

While there were many positive results, we will not be able to list everybody in the stock up category. There were also some units that took steps back for Kansas City against Las Vegas. Each and every week, we will be listing players or position groups that improved or hurt their respective stock. Who saw their stock rise or fall in Week 5? Let’s kick it off.

Stock Up

Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce continues to get better and better during each passing season. With his ability to create extra separation at the top of the route, defensive backs are left sitting on their heels. Thus, opponents are forced to guess where he is attacking, or will look to add some physical contact at the catch point. In this game against the Raiders, Kelce helped fantasy football owners everywhere with his four touchdown catches. He became the first tight end to have four touchdown catches in an NFL game since 1985. Overall, his early season performances have been crucial in getting the Kansas City offense going. Kelce is on pace for one of the most productive seasons of his career. Obviously, that is saying something, given his record-breaking stats in the past.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Marquez Valdes-Scantling has quietly been finding his groove the last few weeks. Where he is winning is something that was not always present for him while with the Green Bay Packers. Since joining the Chiefs offense, Valdes-Scantling has been able to run a fuller route tree. He has also been able to attack from the slot and out wide, as well as with a high variance of deep routes and intermediate routes. Against the Raiders, MVS finished with his most receiving yards (90), targets (eight) and receptions (six) in a single game with Kansas City. He was able to extend drives and move the chains by making some necessary, tough catches in traffic.

Mecole Hardman

Another pass catcher finds their way on the stock up list. It has been an up and down start for Mecole Hardman. Furthermore, we have even placed him in the stock down category a couple of times this season. He was quite important in a few major moments for the Chiefs on Monday night, however. Hardman had four receptions on five targets for 73 receiving yards. For a guy that has struggled to finish and complete routes at times, he did well to work towards the quarterback and towards the soft zones in coverage. Hardman displayed excellent body control and focus after the catch in order to create explosive gains and move the chains for the Chiefs during their comeback.

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Stock Down

Chiefs Run Defense

Kansas City has enjoyed one of their better defensive starts to a season under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. A major part of that, far and away, has been the improvement of the run defense. That has been a glaring weakness for the Chiefs for years. Yet, this group has done fairly well against some challenging running backs to open the season. It was a different story against the Raiders, though. Josh Jacobs has enjoyed a tremendous start to his 2022 campaign. He had a season high 154 rushing yards and 7.33 yards per carry. Jacobs also added a touchdown run, to boot. Better tackling and quicker reads will be needed from the Chiefs run defense moving forward.

Kansas City Secondary

The secondary had a rough night as a whole. We know that Spagnuolo loves to use man coverage and press coverage at a high rate. But still, it was surprising to see how often they went man against Davante Adams with little safety help over the top. Specifically at cornerback, Rashad Fenton continues to struggle. His penalties and lack of ball production could keep him from landing a second contract with Kansas City as he approaches free agency this upcoming offseason. On the other hand, Bryan Cook failed to stay on top of Adams on a long touchdown late. For a younger group, the Chiefs secondary has to make more urgent decisions.

Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie

Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie had no answer for the speed of Chandler Jones or the power of Maxx Crosby. As the game wore on, the duo bounced back. However, this pair continues to provide a certain lack of confidence entering the short-term future. Kansas City will likely have offensive tackle near the top of the priority list next offseason. For Brown Jr., it feels like he will not get that lucrative deal soon, at least in Kansas City. The Chiefs have seen Wylie rise up in vital spots. At the same time, his impact continues to lessen on a weekly basis.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.