Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Has Strong Words for Allen, Royals Ahead of Chargers Game

Mahomes has consistently employed the strategy of expressing his belief in such players as a genius way of getting them to believe in themselves — and it makes complete sense. If a three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time MVP honestly convinces you of his certainty in your capacity to get the relevant job done, why wouldn’t you be certain yourself?

Confidence is king throughout most of life, and few places is that truer than the Darwinian jungle of the NFL gridiron.

Mahomes most recently employed these tactics with rookie offensive tackle Khalil Benson, who stepped in on the left side in place of Josh Simmons in his first-ever professional game and has been better than solid ever since — ranking inside the top 40 of offensive linemen across all positions through Week 5, per his player impact score via Pro Football Network.

“I thought they did a great job of stepping in whenever their numbers been called, but now they’ll have a full week of getting those reps in — I have a lot of confidence in those guys.”

On Wednesday, October 14, Mahomes did the same favor for Allen and Royals.

“I thought they did a great job of stepping in whenever their number [has] been called, but now they’ll have a full week of getting those reps in,” Mahomes said, per KC Sports Network. “I have a lot of confidence in those guys.”

GettyKansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jalen Royals will start in Week 6.

ESPN already lists Royals as a starter for Kansas City following the ankle dislocation that Tyquan Thornton suffered late in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Meanwhile, if Rashee Rice can’t get back onto the field against the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday, then Allen will likely join Royals and Xavier Worthy in the starting lineup.

Kansas City listed Rice as a non-participant in practice on Wednesday due to hamstring and knee issues, per the team’s official injury report.

GettyWide receiver Cyrus Allen of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Royals has just three catches for 17 yards and one TD on five targets this season across 60 offensive snaps. The 2025 fourth-round pick played 86 such snaps during his rookie campaign.

Meanwhile, Allen has seen two targets and has yet to make a catch in his NFL career. He has played just 10 snaps on offense through four games.

Mahomes is liable to lean heaviest on running back Kenneth Walker III, who leads the league with 134.3 yards per game and 6.2 yards per rush. He was first in overall rushing yards heading into Week 5, but the Chiefs had a bye along with the Carolina Panthers, while every other team played last weekend.

Tight end Travis Kelce is also liable to see even more looks come his way after tallying 22 total targets through the first four games (5.5 targets per contest).

Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible