Chiefs' Hollywood Brown's holds the key to Kansas City's offense, fantasy semifinals

The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to activate wide receiver Hollywood Brown from the injured reserve list this weekend, according to ESPN's Adam Teicher.

Brown hasn't played a regular season snap for Kansas City this season; the veteran wide receiver has been dealing with a sternovascular injury suffered on the first snap of the first preseason game of the year, against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

And his return couldn't come at a better time for the Chiefs.

Yes, Kansas City is 13-1, but anyone who has watched this team for any length of time will tell you that they are the definition of "getting away with it." The defense has been phenomenal; they rank fifth in scoring, allowing just 18.5 points per game. The offense has been...effective, but not pretty.

They rank ninth in the NFL in offensive EPA, and fifth in successful play percentage, meaning they're usually able to move the ball down field, and are seldom taking plays for a loss. But if you've watched them this season, they're not breaking a ton of big plays; they're grinding out drives on short passes, and not making a ton of mistakes.

Brown adds an entirely new potential dimension to the offense. He's a notoriously elusive receiver, averaging no less than 10 yards per catch in his career, and has averaged at least seven yards before catch in all but one of his NFL seasons, while picking up an average of 4.1 yards after catching the ball in his career. He's thrived as a slot receiver, and should fit in nicely with DeAndre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy. He opens up space and creates opportunities and mismatches even when he's not getting the ball, and figures to be the kind of player to command genuine attention from opposing defenses.

With Patrick Mahomes potentially banged up heading down the stretch, he's going to become a crucial cog in their machine, the playmaker with the ability to stretch defenses that they've lacked since Tyreek Hill was a Chief.

In fantasy leagues, he could be the kind of player who makes a massive difference for teams looking to make a playoff push. He figures to be a bit of a boom-or-bust player, given the way the Chiefs' offense has functioned this season, but he provides a reliable deep threat option. In PPR leagues, don't expect more than four to five catches a game, most of the time, but with the potential for big plays he figures to be a solid option.

At this stage in the season, with a picked-over waiver wire, finding yourself a potential WR2 is no small feat, and with Brown available in 75 percent of ESPN leagues and 71 percent of Yahoo leagues, he could wind up making a massive difference in the last two weeks of the season for you.

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