The Kansas City Chiefs had multiple marquee moments in Week 2's triumph over the Indianapolis Colts , but one seems to be flying under the radar.
In the third quarter of an eventual overtime victory, second-year wide receiver Jalen Royals had the biggest play of his NFL career to date. The 2025 fourth-round pick hauled in a touchdown pass on fourth-and-1, giving his team a 24-20 lead that ultimately played a major role in the game's outcome.
As it turns out, the grab may have had a greater impact than expected. Even with the club's focus now having shifted to Sunday's Week 3 showdown with the Miami Dolphins , Kansas City is still overjoyed with the cornerstone snapshot of Royals' development.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, receivers coach Chad O'Shea praised Royals for consistently bringing energy to the table. He isn't one bit surprised that the hard work finally paid off, and it's rubbing off on the rest of the room.
"He goes and gets his hair cut and he comes back [and] he gets his first touchdown," O'Shea said. "He comes with great energy. He's always been a lot of fun to be around. He's a tremendous person, Jalen is, that works extremely hard. He puts the team first in everything we do. We've asked him to be in some different roles for the team that he's embraced.
"How fun was it to see him catch his first touchdown pass, get a great-looking haircut and come, really, with a lot of energy? It's been a lot of fun to be around, and I know it's really energized our guys. It's contagious - I really believe that. Rashee (Rice) and the guys have really had fun with him in the room as far as, 'Hey, you get your first touchdown, you get a haircut and now you've got some energy and juice about yourself.' I think it's been great."
That play marked just the fourth reception of Royals' young career, as he had a pair of snags in his debut campaign while playing only 86 offensive snaps. Many expected a similar trend to continue when he didn't see the field in Week 1 outside special teams, but he made the most of his 12 opportunities on Sunday Night Football and now has some improved confidence to match.
Rice, one of the leading veterans at wideout for the Chiefs, can notice the difference. He's elated for "The Professor," as the team calls him -especially with his new haircut -to get that monkey off his back.
"Super excited," Rice said. "Jalen, he's not really a loud person, so when we see him, we tell him, 'It's getting really loud in here.' When he scored the touchdown, we saw all of his passion come out for the game. He was able to scream, and everybody was super excited for him. He's walking around smiling all day, he's talking in the meetings, so I think that's all he needed to open up."
Given the current state of the top-heavy receiver collective in Kansas City, there are minimal openings for Royals as things stand. It'd take a benching or injury for the former Utah State standout to get much more involved in the offense, but him building trust with the quarterback and coaching staff can only be viewed as a positive.
It's hard to quantify things like morale and self-belief, especially considering how frequently those elements change over the course of a mentally and physically trying NFL season. There have been countless instances of a player "arriving," however, or at least officially becoming a member of a pack. For the last 12-plus months, Royals was much closer to an afterthought amongst the Chiefs' wide receivers than a reliable piece.
He's one step closer to being classified as the latter now, with the rest of his peers rooting for him in the process.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/onsi as How Jalen Royals' First NFL Touchdown Has 'Energized' Both Him and the Chiefs .
