Over the last four seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs have finished as one of the elite teams in the National Football League, reaching the AFC title game every year during that span and achieving two consecutive Super Bowl appearances and one Championship season in 2019. Only a small handful of clubs have gone toe-to-toe with the Chiefs when it matters the most, particularly during the postseason, which is around the time star players such as quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and defensive tackle Chris Jones are at the top of their game.
In 2022, the team has undergone various changes and will look very different from the Chiefs teams of the last few years. After completely rehauling their offensive line a year ago, the Chiefs continued to the give the rest of the roster a facelift as several starters such as wide receiver Tyreek Hill, safety Tyrann Mathieu, running back Darrel Williams, safety Dan Sorensen, cornerback Charvarious Ward, and linebacker Anthony Hitchens are no longer on the roster. At the same time, newcomers like wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, safety Justin Reid, linebacker Jermaine Carter, and rookies Trent McDuffie, George Karlaftis, and Skyy Moore fill the various holes that were left.
The new haul of talent picked up by general manager Brett Veach has received various reviews, some of which claim the Chiefs will be taking a step back next season. Esspecially with how beefed up Kansas City’s divisional opponents have gotten over the offseason. Notably, Denver’s addition of quarterback Russell Wilson via trade with Seattle, the Chargers acquired linebacker Khalil Mack, and the Las Vegas Raiders made huge pickups in former Green Bay Packers wideout Davante Adams via trade and defensive end Chandler Jones through free agency.
However, Marc Ross of NFL.com published his list of complete teams going into the 2022 season. He says the Chiefs are the NFL’s fourth-most complete club in his rankings.
Ross writes:
“The Chiefs have made four consecutive AFC title games. That’s a testament to the franchise’s roster-building and the play of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Now they head into the 2022 season without explosive wideout Tyreek Hill, whom they traded to Miami in March. K.C. still has an elite pass-catcher in Travis Kelce, and the attention he attracts should open up the field for newcomers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and rookie Skyy Moore. Adding Ronald Jones II to the backfield should help raise Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s level, and the offensive line returns pretty well intact after a massive overhaul last offseason.
The defense isn’t going to steal the spotlight from Andy Reid’s offense, but it’s solid at all three levels. Frank Clark and Chris Jones anchored a front that ranked 29th in sacks a season ago, but it should get a major boost from first-round draft pick George Karlaftis. The Chiefs have a young, fast linebacker corps with Nick Bolton and Willie Gay leading the charge, and while the club let do-it-all safety Tyrann Mathieu walk in free agency, the Chiefs signed safety Justin Reid and selected rookie Trent McDuffie — one of the best value picks in the draft — to assist rising cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and the rest of the CB group.”
Ross makes some good points, but it is all based on how the Chiefs look on paper. Of course, that’s all anyone has to go off of right now. But he’s not wrong either. There’s plenty to like about the Chiefs roster as we’re just a few short months away from training camp when we’ll finally get a chance to see what the new faces the team has added will bring to the forefront.
Ronald Jones should bring some extra juice to the run game while also elevating Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s performance. The receiving core has major shoes to fill when it comes to replacing Tyreek Hill, and while Hill’s absence may be felt, it shouldn’t hinder Patrick Mahomes’s ability to spread the ball around and keep defenses guessing. Having Travis Kelce out there should help too. Finally, the Chiefs’ offensive line should be even better going into their second season as a complete unit.
Defensively, George Karlaftis has a chance to be the x-factor along the defensive line potentially. Kansas City has struggled at producing a consistent pass rush, and neither Chris Jones nor Frank Clark has been able to pile up the sack count. So the rookie from Purdue might be the extra element the team’s been looking for.
The only group that is most likely to experience some growing pains this season could be the secondary. The Chiefs got impeccably younger at cornerback and safety, which means there may be instances where mistakes occur, and the opposition makes big plays. Something that’ll be interesting to watch once camp rolls around is how veteran L’Jarius Sneed transitions into the Chiefs’ top cornerback spot or if rookie Trent McDuffie immediately falls into that role.
Overall, there’s plenty to like about how Brett Veach built Kansas City’s 2022 roster. While it’ll still be a bit before camp and preseason scrimmages finally come around, the Chiefs definitely appear to have a complete squad for the upcoming season.
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