Why NFL teams should be terrified of the Kansas City Chiefs

The Rookies

All offseason there has been talk about how the Kansas City Chiefs are front runners to win another Super Bowl this season because of everyone they have returning from last season. General manager Brett Veach retained all of their elite talent and their entire coaching staff. Their percentage of starters returning from a Super Bowl champion is basically unheard of. That continuity and familiarity gives an already loaded team a huge advantage over teams with lots of roster or coaching turnover, especially in a year where the offseason was so unusual.

Here’s the thing: while we were all so focused on the continuity of operation #RunItBack, we may not have even considered the possibility that K.C.’s class of rookies could significantly upgrade a roster that was already seen as one of the best—if not the best—in the league. While it’s just one game, the Chiefs had two rookies already make a serious claim for being upgrades over players at their positions last season.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire was an absolute force in the run game and showed the potential to dominate a game in a way that Damien Williams hasn’t been able to. That’s coming from a guy who was pounding the table for K.C. not needing to upgrade over Williams before the draft. (To this day, I will argue that Williams’ final touchdown run was the defining moment of K.C.’s Super Bowl win).

However, even I have to admit that Edwards-Helaire showed the potential to be a game-changing force in the offense on Thursday. The Chiefs’ offense was still great without Kareem Hunt the last year-and-a-half, but you can certainly argue that they were better when they had that consistent threat in the backfield. CEH looks like he might give them that again.

Then there was fourth round pick L’Jarius Sneed. I had hope that with some time to develop, Sneed would eventually grow into a starting caliber outside corner, but I didn’t think it would be this season. Sneed certainly didn’t look like a guy that needed more time on Thursday, as he was K.C.’s best coverage player on the night.

Sneed’s speed, size, and ball location skills looked like a huge addition for a Chiefs secondary that had certainly been questioned over the past couple of seasons. It may not be realistic to expect that level of game every week, but even if Sneed makes some mistakes in the weeks to come, the traits he showed are the real deal. Those traits make him an asset to the secondary. Period.

Here’s the really scary thing for the rest of the NFL. That game was Edwards-Helaire and Sneed’s first NFL action ever. What happens when they have more time to adjust to the game and grow in actual game experience. Theoretically, all rookies should only continue to grow as the season goes along. CEH was seen as a huge threat in the passing game and the Chiefs didn’t even take advantage of that in week one.

Mike Danna and Tershawn Wharton both looked like guys who will contribute this season as well, and we didn’t even get to see Willie Gay Jr. take any defensive snaps. So there is plenty of room for this rookie class to continue to improve and have even more of an impact as this season goes on.

While the foundation of the Chiefs attempt to repeat as champions may be what they’ve returned from last season, the additions that they made with this rookie class look like they could have a chance to make this team even more dangerous, and that should terrify the rest of the league.

Next up, the Chiefs dynamic duo on the front of their defense is going to be an issue for opponents.