Tyrann Mathieu, Juan Thornhill win Kansas City Chiefs midseason awards

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE SEASON

In this section, we asked our writers to give us the biggest surprise so far of the season and the majority of them went with cornerback Charvarius Ward as the biggest shock. Ward is a second year starter who earned a chance late last year and showed enough promise to come back and maintain that presence. Given that he was brought in via a last-second trade with the Dallas Cowboys for Parker Ehinger, it’s a helluva grab for GM Brett Veach.

Here’s a rundown of what our writers said overall about the biggest surprise of the season so far.

Charvarius Ward has surprisingly been good in coverage this season. He has only allowed 0.67 yards per coverage snap since Week 2, which ranks 3rd among cornerbacks with 200+ coverage snaps, per PFF. Coming into the season, I had doubts about his ability to be a starting CB, but he’s been excellent in coverage so far. [Drew Brooks]

Mahomes’ higher rate of dangerous or interceptable passes compared to last season. I’ll chalk it up to the ankle for now, but he has indeed come a tick closer to earth vs. 2018 in that regard. Now, a tick closer to earth for Mahomes is still the most explosively talented QB probably in history, but he’s been noticeably messier this season. [Jacob Harris]

Tanoh Kpassagnon has gone from preseason cut candidate to a bona fide presence all over the defensive line. Whether it’s at end or tackle, Kpassagnon has been very consistent this season in Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 defense. [Scott Loring]

Charvarius Ward. His emergence as a solid corner was not something I anticipated. I thought our secondary was going to be the problem but I was wrong. The corners as a whole have generally played very well and, for an undrafted player, he has really stepped up and come into his own. [Ellen Mathis]

Charvarius Ward. The 2nd year pro hasn’t been perfect, but he has been very good for a Chiefs secondary that needed someone to step up in a big way. West’s development has turned CB from the top priority for the Chiefs to likely the 4th priority. It has been huge. [Kelly Thompson]

Obviously the biggest surprise in Kansas City is how mortal they look. After an offseason of big time change, they still have some weak spots on defense and it has been disappointing to see them drop 3 games at this point of the season. [Grant Tuttle]

Emmanuel Ogbah. Not many were excited for him coming to K.C. in that trade with Cleveland [for safety Eric Murray]. He currently leads the team in sacks with 4.5. [Farzin Vousoughian]