KC Chiefs: The six most important training camp battles of 2021

The long dry spell of the NFL offseason is almost over. Next week, the K.C. Chiefs will kick off their training camp practices and with it their 2021 season.

Fans and experts all agree that the Chiefs have one of the best rosters in the league and are, once again, among the favorites to win the Super Bowl. A big part of the reason the Chiefs are seen as frontrunners again this season is the team’s elite talent at the top of the roster. Guys like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Chris Jones, and Tyrann Mathieu are proven stars, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t key training camp battles that will take place in the coming weeks that will go a long ways towards shaping the 2021 Chiefs team.

As long as K.C.’s big names stay healthy, the Chiefs will have a winning season and should be in position to make a long postseason run. However, as we saw in the Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a few key positions (like the offensive line) being unsettled can keep the Chiefs’ star power from being able to shine. I know it sounds cliché, but the NFL really is a team sport where one or two players simply can’t win it all by themselves. While national media will likely focus on the big names leading up to the season, the truth is that the team’s Super Bowl chances may really come down to the six camp battles that we’ll look at today.

I’ve picked the top three battles on both offense and defense. I’ve tried to number them in order of importance, but honestly if you want to argue a different order, I can certainly see why you’d swap a few around. The bottom line is that if the Chiefs come away with a dependable starter in all six battles, they will be incredibly hard to beat. If they don’t and these six spots remain an issue all season, it might be difficult for them to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.

Let’s go ahead and kick things off with the number six battle.