Jalen Royals will be catching passes from Patrick Mahomes.
That’s not a bad landing spot for the talented Utah State wide receiver.
Royals was taken by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 133rd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft on Saturday, ending a longer-than-expected saga of where the 6-foot Georgia native might land.
Royals was the fifth wide receiver selected in the fourth round — he was rated by ESPN, The Athletic and NFL.com as the best wideout available going into Day 3 of the draft, and a top three prospect overall at that point.
Now, he prepares to play alongside Mahomes, the Super Bowl MVP quarterback, for a Chiefs franchise that is making Super Bowl appearances a nearly ever-year occurrence.
Royals was the second offensive player selected by Kansas City in this year’s draft. The Chiefs used their first-round pick on former Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons.
Royals joins a Chiefs wide receiving room that is looking to get younger and will have his opportunities to make an impression.
While tight end Travis Kelce is the team’s top receiving option, Xavier Worthy came on strong as a rookie last year — he was a first-round selection — and finished the regular season with 638 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Worthy then led the Chiefs in receiving during the playoffs during their run to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rashee Rice also is back after missing much of his sophomore season due to injury. He had 938 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2023.
Veterans Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster return as well at wide receiver for Kansas City, though it’s apparent that Royals will have his chances to get into the rotation.
How draft experts graded the Jalen Royals selection
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso gave the Chiefs’ selection of Royals an A grade.
“Stocky YAC specialist. Tested with better speed than what he demonstrates on film,” Trapasso wrote. “Was the clear No. 1 in college and routinely produced. Limited route tree, not a super-crisp route runner yet and at times fights the football as it arrives. Chiefs had sneaky WR need. Fit boosts this grade.”
USA Today’s Ayrton Ostly also was a fan of the pick, giving it an A grade, complimenting the fit he believes Royals will be in Kansas City.
“Royals has one of the best bursts in the class at 6-foot and 205 pounds,” Ostly wrote. “He gives another speed element to the Chiefs’ offense alongside Xavier Worthy but with the size to take on physical defenders a bit better. He ran a limited route tree in college but this is a great value pick for the Chiefs.”
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm didn’t give the pick a letter grade, but he similarly liked Royals going to the Chiefs.
“The Chiefs nab the hyper-productive Royals, who might not be instant coffee as an NFL receiver but has the smooth-moving skills to be an effective second-level pass catcher eventually,” Edholm wrote.