The Kansas City Chiefs sit behind the three other teams to reach as far as the conference championship as NFL.com highlights its first power rankings of the offseason.
The remnants of this year’s official Super Bowl parade is likely still being cleaned up in the Boston area, but the National Football League is already marching on. Elliot Harrison of NFL.com has turned his attention toward the 2019 season and what teams must do between now and then to get ready.
In terms of teams ready to compete right now, the Kansas City Chiefs are in fine form as one of the top two AFC teams (guess the other). The L.A. Rams and New Orleans Saints are also listed alongside the New England Patriots and Chiefs among the top four.
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What’s a bit surprising is that the Chiefs are last among the lot despite the emergence of Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and the relative youth of the team compared with the others. Check out his first NFL power rankings of the offseason:
"As for the Chiefs, I’m surprised the dismissal of longtime defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, whose unit couldn’t slow down Brady, didn’t happen sooner, given Kansas City’s struggles the last two years on defense. Andy Reid can’t be asking Patrick Mahomes to score 30 points just for his team to have a chance."
Power rankings are meaningless even in-season, but if we’re on the subject, it makes sense to at least note the fact that the Patriots already looked more vulnerable than ever in a Super Bowl year and that the Chiefs were this close to beating them on two separate occasions. If not for an oddly overturned turnover, a phantom roughing the passer call, or a silly offsides penalty, the Chiefs would have eliminated New England.
The Chiefs defense can also get better from here. There’s simply no way that Patrick Mahomes is going to have to score 30 to 40 per game just to win—at least not for a full season. The defense is a reason to chastise the 2018 Chiefs, but the team has already replaced Bob Sutton as defensive coordinator which means last year’s rookies and key additions—including linebackers Anthony Hitchens and Dorian O’Daniel and lineman Breeland Speaks—should be placed in better positions to succeed. There will also be plenty more additions to come.
Maybe Harrison needs to see something to believe it. Fine enough. It’s hard to imagine the Chiefs won’t be the class of the AFC for quite some time, beginning in 2019.