Kansas City Chiefs have 3 of ESPN’s Top 30 fantasy football players

The Kansas City Chiefs offense is expected to be high-powered in 2018, and even fantasy football players will be excited to see what the team can do.

Fantasy football leagues are beginning to form, if they haven’t already, all across the country, which means fantasy rankings are beginning to come out in print and digital form. The folks over at ESPN recently put out their Top 200 rankings for the 2018 season now that most player movement has settled in, and Kansas City Chiefs are going to like what they read.

The Chiefs offense looks every bit the part of a high-powered unit, and the fantasy rankings reflect just that. The Chiefs have three of the top 30 players on ESPN’s overall rankings and four in the top 66. And the quarterback for this offense isn’t even listed in the top 100.

Kareem Hunt comes in first at No. 12, and it’s not surprising considering that running backs often generate the most overall points in a typical fantasy league. Hunt led the NFL in rushing last year with 1,327 yards and he gained another 455 yards through the air.

It’s a bit of a surprise that Hunt actually that low on the rankings and not a top 6 running back alongside the Le’Veon Bells and Zeke Elliotts of the fantasy world. Consider this: he will be working with a rookie quarterback who is easing into a starting role, which typically means much more work in the beginning for the running game. In addition, Hunt had such a great rookie year but he also struggled for much of the midseason run. A full offseason of conditioning and a knowledge of what it takes to go to the full pro season should do wonders for Hunt.

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After Hunt, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce come in at No. 26 and 29, respectively. Both pass catchers crossed the 1,000 yard mark last season and should blossom as opponents continue to be frustrated by having to cover so many targets. Hill in particular could make the leap to elite wide receiver given his incredible rate of making deep catches, and that was only in his first full year as a wideout.

Both Hill and Kelce will also enjoy the presence of Sammy Watkins, who is listed at No. 66 overall in ESPN’s rankings. Watkins is a wild card for sure, since it’s impossible to know how much the Chiefs will use him (or how for that matter). But his presence will surely free up everyone else on offense or he will eat up the targets that come his way if defenses cannot adjust.

As for the quarterback in all of this, Patrick Mahomes is currently ranked at No. 148—14th among quarterbacks. That’s just inside the top half of the NFL and that much makes sense given that Mahomes hasn’t yet really proven anything on the field. Then again, being surrounded by so many weapons makes that ranking feel low even if it is all on paper right now.

It will be interesting to see how well the Chiefs players are able to live up to the offensive expectations coming into this new year. The hype around Mahomes, the energy added by Watkins, the maturation of the young players and the expertise of Andy Reid are all coming together to create some serious hopes. Now it’s just a matter of actually making it a reality.