Where the Chiefs stand heading into the regular season

Sometimes, it is alright to dream.

The Kansas City Chiefs have put their fans through a long-standing nightmare for the better part of the last 45 years, only winning three playoff games in that span. In the meantime, Chiefs fans have endured a multitude of brutal losses, both on and off the field. With all of this weighing on the franchise, the fan base is in desperate need of a light at the end of the tunnel.

This 2015 group appears like it could be exactly that. After winning 20 games in their first two years under head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs have a deep roster with expectations. For once, Kansas City has reason to realistically hope.

It is easy to be pessimistic, something I have been for most of my life when it comes to the Chiefs. Kansas City has always seemed to either have no defense (Vermeil years), no offense (Schottenheimer years), or no hope (end of Peterson years, Pioli years). Even if you tried to convince yourself that a Super Bowl was possible, you were always aware that a fatal flaw loomed like a dark cloud over Arrowhead Stadium.

General manager John Dorsey has done an impeccable job of removing the storm. Dorsey has been diligent in his efforts, finding waiver wire pickups such as Jaye Howard and Ron Parker, while signing quality veterans named Jeremy Maclin, Mike DeVito, Tyvon Branch, Sean Smith and more. Dorsey also made deals for Ben Grubbs, Anthony Sherman and Alex Smith, a quarterback who while limited, can win ample contests.

Most impressive, Dorsey has re-signed his own. In the salary cap era, it is nearly impossible to keep your stars and continue to build, but the Chiefs have done that over the last two years. Dorsey was able to keep Tamba Hali and DeVito on pay-cuts this offseason while re-signing Parker and Justin Houston. Most assumed Hali and Parker were gone, but Dorsey got creative with Parker and has a saintly man in Hali, who was willing to take a $7 million cut. Then there were the extensions of Sherman, Smith, Jamaal Charles and Allen Bailey.

Only three years after going 2-14 and earning the first-overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Kansas City is a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The defense might be the best in football with Dontari Poe, Derrick Johnson, Sean Smith, DeVito, Howard, Houston and Hali starring. On offense, this is finally a versatile team with Charles, Sherman, Maclin, Travis Kelce and De’Anthony Thomas, along with an improved line.

At this juncture, there is no reason to see Kansas City as anything but a true Super Bowl contender. The Chiefs must win the AFC West if they have dreams of grandeur, and it appears they have much more than a puncher’s chance to do so. Forget about the Denver Broncos getting worse; it is about the Chiefs getting much better.

In the third year of Reid’s system, Kansas City has a team equipped to play with all the big boys of the National Football League. Better yet, the Chiefs have the opportunity to become one of them.

Perhaps the biggest of them all.