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Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are going to be one of the big stories of camp, and that will, of course, start with the status of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Coming off a torn ACL and LCL and a December surgery, Mahomes was already working in install periods, individuals and seven-on-sevens through OTAs. He’s trending toward being fully cleared relatively soon, but I’d expect Kansas City to be judicious with him early in camp—because when you tell him to go, he’ll go.
Either way, he’s ahead of schedule, and that should set up for the Chiefs to have their three-time champion triggerman back in the saddle for Week 1 … at least, that’s the hope.
Which brings us to the rest of the team, and the interesting thing here, to me anyway, is how Kansas City is back to where it was three years ago after trading Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins. At that point, in 2022, with a cap that was top-heavy by design, it was on GM Brett Veach and his guys to augment with cost-controlled young talent, and they did it with Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Nick Bolton, George Karlaftis and Trent McDuffie, among others.
Now, four of those five guys are part of the “top-heavy” piece of the equation and McDuffie is the Hill portion of it—dealt away to give Veach more ammo to find cheaper labor. And the spring brought promise that he and Andy Reid might be pulling it off again.
The case against Kansas City: From the moment the NFL released the regular-season schedule, with the Chiefs prominently featured in prime-time tilts to open the campaign, it seemed a strong possibility that Mahomes would be good to go in Week 1. But what if he suffers a setback? Or, as others have experienced when returning from a knee injury, what if he’s simply not himself the entire season? No one questions Mahomes’ work ethic or drive. Both are legendary, but the reality is that the body responds differently, particularly as we creep past 30. If Mahomes is anything short of his jaw-dropping self for the bulk of the regular season, K.C. will have issues leapfrogging back to the top of the division.
With the Chiefs focusing on defense early in the draft, there remain questions at wideout, where K.C. has struggled to get consistency the past several seasons. Can Xavier Worthy finally live up to his first-round billing? Will Rashee Rice stay on the field? Is there enough depth in the passing attack, particularly with Travis Kelce beginning to show his age? If the running game doesn’t prove to be a significant upgrade, the offense could once again be a slog to watch.
On defense, the...
