Kansas City Chiefs have most players from 2016 roster still on team

Per Michael Lombardi, the Kansas City Chiefs have the most players from last year’s roster still on their team.

All offseason long, we’ve been saying the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t going to be able to keep every rookie they draft, given the fact that not only do they have 10 picks overall but they also run deeper than nearly every other team in the NFL. Michael Lombardi points this out in a different way on Twitter on Friday with the following statistic.

It’s easy to focus on significant offseason losses by every team and the Chiefs are no different having seen Dontari Poe leave after playing more snaps on the defensive line than anyone else for the last half-decade. In addition, the Chiefs also watched their all-time leading rusher hit the free agent market earlier this offseason. Smaller pieces like Knile Davis signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and free agents like Josh Mauga remain available for anyone to sign. Still beyond those players, it’s clear the Chiefs have largely retained the talent they’ve curated over the last few years.

The inferred belief here is that John Dorsey and Andy Reid are willing to stake their livelihoods on the fact that the Chiefs have a team that’s largely ready to win as currently constructed. There’s little need for player acquisition or turnover if you trust the system you have in place, and if the young guys you’ve drafted are being coached up properly. The secondary is loaded with young options. The offensive line is deep and locked in for the next two years if the starters remain the same.

If anything, it will be interesting to see how the Chiefs fare versus other teams by having such continuity available to them. So few teams, including teams like the Patriots, allow for this level of chemistry to develop. Will the players benefit from knowing the scheme that much more than their opponents? Will it make a big difference having played together that much more than others? Only time will tell.

More than any player addition or impact draft pick, the element that will most likely impact the Chiefs ability to make the playoffs again will be their familiarity with the playbook and each other. If the Chiefs players know what to do at an instinctual level, the game slows down for everyone involved, allowing their inherent skill set to take over. That could be the difference between winning and losing in 2017.