Arrowhead Pride
Ranking 2026 NFL rosters: Best projected starting lineups | ESPN
12. Kansas City Chiefs
Biggest strength: Quarterback. Patrick Mahomes is recovering from a left torn ACL and hasn’t finished better than sixth in QBR since 2022, but he remains Kansas City’s best player. Before his injury-shortened 2025 season, the two-time league MVP had led his team to 10-plus wins and the AFC Championship Game seven seasons in a row. He has won the Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP three times each and is still only 30 years old. Expected to be ready for Week 1, Mahomes will be counted on to lead the Chiefs to a bounce-back season. — Clay
Biggest weakness: Offensive tackle. The Chiefs added just enough at corner to allow me to stick with offensive tackle for the third consecutive year, as Kansas City’s tackles ranked 31st in run block win rate (70.8%) last season. The head-scratching, four-year, $80 million deal handed to RT Jawaan Taylor a few years ago did not work out, and the Chiefs moved on during the offseason. They’ll now turn to long-time reserve Jaylon Moore there. Left tackle Josh Simmons was serviceable in eight appearances as a rookie, and the 2025 first-round pick is a candidate for a Year 2 leap. Kansas City is also less deep after trading Wanya Morris in June. — Clay
X factor for 2026: The second edge rusher. Maybe that’s second-year player Ashton Gillotte. Perhaps it’s former first-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah. Or it could be R Mason Thomas, this year’s second-round pick. Regardless of who it is, the Chiefs need one of those players to emerge and become a pass-rushing threat opposite George Karlaftis. If not, that will be a weak point for the Chiefs’ defense. — Walder
Nonstarter to know: RB Emari Demercado. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is now Kansas City’s primary back, but he has never had more than 230 carries in a season and played all 17 games only once (last year). The Chiefs will probably have to depend a little bit on their backups, and the top guy is Demercado, an ex-Cardinal. Similar to Walker, Demercado is good for some explosive runs and had a career average of 6.5 yards per carry over three seasons with Arizona. He also has 50 career receptions. — Schatz
Rashee Rice, WR
This one might surprise people. Rashee Rice has shown flashes of elite play when healthy and available, but availability has been the problem. The off-the-field issues caused him to miss OTAs and mandatory minicamp. On top of that, Rice is coming off knee surgery and has been banged up frequently, which could prevent him from being fully ready when the season begins.
Missing that much of the offseason program...
