The Kansas City Chiefs are built to withstand this altered offseason

With the NFL altering the offseason format due to COVID-19, the Kansas City Chiefs are the team best equipped to handle the changes.

As we sit in a time of uncertainty, courtesy of COVID-19, even the football world has seen major ripple effects. Not only did the NFL Draft go fully virtual in recent weeks, but the annual OTA (offseason training activities) periods will also be done online. While some around the NFL might be panicking behind the scenes, the Kansas City Chiefs are sitting in a great spot.

It is no secret by now that the Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions, now return 20 of their 22 starters from the big game. With the mixture of roster camaraderie and chemistry, this virtual training period might not be the worst idea.

After you see a team make to the Super Bowl and then hoist the Lombardi Trophy, they often have what is commonly dubbed a “Super Bowl hangover.” No matter if it is a celebratory hangover or the fact that their bodies are beat up from playing football from July to February, it is certainly a real thing. For the Chiefs, this mandatory time off might not be the worst. Time away from football would force the team to have a reset period—not only physically, but mentally. Sure, the Chiefs will remain in playing shape and staying mentally sharp with their playbook, but it will be a longer layoff than usual before jumping back into the grind of an NFL season.

Not only will players get some much needed time off, but they will not have to face the same challenges as other organizations during this time. Think of the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and the Carolina Panthers. Each team is under a new head coach and an entirely new staff, and this offseason is the curveball they’ve been thrown.

Normally, first-year coaches get to open up OTAs and start training camp earlier than other teams. While I am sure they will still have that luxury it just will not be the same over a zoom call. Those teams will see a major setback when trying to implement their new schemes, establish trust with players, and make sure everyone is on the same page.

These changes will affect more than the teams of first-year coaches. Take Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh for example. Harbaugh is of the most respected NFL coaches out there and he leads one of the league’s most talented teams. However, unlike Andy Reid and company, Harbaugh and the Ravens have spent this offseason wheeling and dealing. While all their moves have been viewed as widely successful ones, and even huge improvements, they’ve got a lot of moving parts to put into place.

If there is ever an offseason you do not want such worries, it is this one. As we already know the OTA period will be dramatically shifted, and many believe that a full-blown training camp could look a lot different come July. Many compare this offseason to the lockout offseason that saw training periods and learning curves look a lot different. Chris Long tells a great story about how, during that lockout season, Bill Belichick did not implement his entire defensive scheme because he knew there would not be enough time for players to catch on.

If coaches are not able to employ every wrinkle of their playbook, to combat the Chiefs or any other team the best they can, then that spells trouble. This is especially true when the league is tasked with slowing down the Kansas City Chiefs high-flying offense.

That is why the Kansas City Chiefs’ returning players provide a huge advantage for the defending Super Bowl champions ,especially when you factor in that Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive scheme is regarded as one of the most difficult playbooks to pick up in the entire league. Even with a full offseason of work, some were nervous that the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs could not catch onto to Spags’ defense in time.

Andy Reid‘s offense is complex and can be viewed the same way. So having your gunslinger, top wideouts, and tight end all returning is going to be huge. While the Chiefs have made some moves this offseason, the majority of their snap leaders will be the same in 2020 as they were in 2019. Returning Demarcus Robinson and Sammy Watkins to go along with Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman will be huge. We all know how long it takes for Andy Reid to trust new wideouts to pick up his playbook, so having the wide receivers room basically a carbon copy of last year’s bunch is huge.

Despite all of this, the Chiefs still face their share of adversity. Like every team, the Chiefs will be forced to throw their rookies into the fire after a topsy-turvy offseason that will likely see limited time for them to adjust to NFL life. On the defensive side especially, the Chiefs might face growing pains from rookies forced into roles like linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and/or corner L’Jarius Sneed.

Leadership will be paramount during the 2020-21 NFL season, no matter when it starts. Luckily, with Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Bieniemy and company, the Chiefs have the leaders necessary to overcome this offseason.

Can you find a more talented team with better leaders than what the Chiefs currently possess? For my money, you can’t. That is why Kansas City has to be the odds-on favorite to repeat as Super Bowl champions.