Arrowhead Pride
Before the offseason gets rolling, it’s important to reflect on what the Kansas City Chiefs were in the 2025 season. It was an incredibly frustrating campaign. The only way to ensure that doesn’t happen again is by learning from it.
So, here are five takeaways from the Chiefs’ season and what it might mean for 2026 and beyond:
It’s easy to forget now, but the Chiefs’ offensive line —particularly the left side — was being questioned before 2025. We weren’t sure what we were getting from left tackle Josh Simmons or left guard Kingsley Suamataia.
Kansas City feels much better about the offensive tackle situation now. Simmons had a frustrating season with injuries and a personal situation, but when he played, he looked like a top-5 left tackle already and is on track to become an All-Pro soon.
Suamataia wasn’t as dominant, but he got better every week and was playing great football by the end of the year. His physical profile stands out every week, but he also continues to improve his technique.
Between Simmons, Suamataia, center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith, the Chiefs have four offensive linemen who are all young and have played together for a while. All four are athletic marvels that should give the Chiefs schematic versatility. They have the potential to be the best offensive line in the NFL next year. The team should prioritize building the scheme around the offensive line.
Despite having a great offensive line, the Chiefs’ run game was terrible all season. Unless it was a short-yardage run, most of Kansas City’s other runs were wasted downs. There were never any explosive runs.
Nearly all of the blame for that goes to the running backs; they were not good enough in 2025. Kareem Hunt was this team’s best running back and he rarely gained more than 7-8 yards on a handoff. Isiah Pacheco was plagued with injuries. The staff didn’t have a role for rookie Brashard Smith.
There are valid questions about the Chiefs’ run scheme and how difficult it is for ball carriers. The reliance on run-pass options plays into that, but Kansas City’s run blocking was too good to be so ineffective. The team needs multiple additions to the backfield this offseason.
Kansas City lacks a single receiver who can beat man coverage consistently. Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy are too small to play outside receiver. Rashee Rice has struggled to create separation against man coverage since he was at SMU. That’s not Juju Smith-Schuster’s or Tyquan Thornton’s games.
Once tight end Travis Kelce’s ability to beat man coverage diminished at all, the Chiefs haven’t had answers, and it’s due to personnel. Teams have realized this and played more man coverage through the years. When they do, the Kansas City offense stalls.
In particular, the...
