The Kansas City Chiefs' decision to trade Tyreek Hill this offseason was greeted by many with understandable bemusement.

With Hill sent to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, two fourth-round picks, and a 2023 sixth-round pick, the Chiefs lost the player who, save for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, struck the most fear into the hearts of opposing defenses.

How could the Chiefs' offense be as devastating without him? Surely the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid had a plan?

Turns out they did, and it wasn't to spend either of their two first-round picks on a wide receiver. The Chiefs opted for defense in the form of Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis, instead filling the void with a pair of veterans in Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and a second-round pick in Skyy Moore.

Moore is quicker than fast and, though Valdes-Scantling was the de-facto deep threat for Aaron Rodgers in the Green Bay Packers' offense, neither can claim to boast anywhere close to the explosive speed Hill possesses.

And yet the Chiefs' offense has actually been more explosive than it was in the 2021 season, suffering no drop-off as Kansas City surged to the number one seed in the AFC and has since overcome injuries to quarterback and receivers alike to progress to Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The Chiefs racked up 249 plays of 10 yards or more in 2021, but that number has jumped to 257 in 2022. On top of that, the Chiefs finished first in the NFL in Stats Perform's Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE) metric on offense.

While much credit must go to All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce – who ended the regular season with 1,338 receiving yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns – and head coach Andy Reid for finding joy running three-tight end formations, there is no doubting the influence of Kansas City's reconstructed receiver corps.

Smith-Schuster ended the year with 933 receiving yards, carving out a role as a dependable possession receiver who – according to Stats Perform data – won his matchup with a defender on a play where he was targeted 74.5 per cent of the time (the average is 60.2).

Valdes-Scantling has been an effective big-play threat, averaging 16.4 yards per reception in the regular season and, though Moore has not had the impact some may have envisaged, sporadic contributions from in-season trade acquisition Kadarius Toney – a former first-round pick of the New York Giants – and Justin Watson have helped ensure the Chiefs have continued to thrive throwing the ball.

How has everything coalesced so effectively for the Chiefs' new-look receiver group? In the view of Mahomes, their success is a tribute to the effort they have each shown since arriving in Kansas City.

"Just a lot of hard work. The guys work their tail off every day," said Mahomes of his receivers.

"It's a tough place to be to learn a whole new playbook and really execute and get better and better throughout the season and have no drop-offs, those guys have done that since OTAs and gotten better and better and that's what's got us in this position, so I'm excited for those guys to go on the world stage and showcase what they've worked all year for."

Kelce similarly praised the way Smith-Schuster and Co. have attacked the challenge, while also hailing Reid for identifying players who could slot seamlessly into an offense that was built heavily around Hill.

"The wide receiver group this year has been absolutely unbelievable," said Kelce. "Being able to come in year one and master this offense the way they have – this isn't an easy offense to figure out – it's just been cool to see the professionalism on top of the leadership that's been brought into this building for a lot of the young guys that are still in that room.

"There were just a lot of specific Tyreek routes, man, routes that only that guy could run. Hats off to coach Reid for creating those routes for the strengths of the guys that are in the building now. 

"This offense has had one of its best years, and it's not by surprise, it's not by accident, there's a lot of guys in that room that have the strengths and the abilities to go out there and have success and I'm happy they're going out there and having it."

Having such success may be a tough ask against an Eagles defense that allowed only 4.8 yards per pass play in the regular season, the fewest in the NFL.

But, even if the Chiefs' offense cannot produce the explosive plays to propel them to a second Super Bowl title in four seasons, the receiving group they have constructed has already emphatically expelled all doubts about Kansas City's decision to move on from their superstar wideout.