Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the long wait is finally over. The K.C. Chiefs play a real football game this week.
While we all love the buzz or training camp and the chance to watch players earn roster spots in the preseason games, nothing compares with the real thing that is the NFL’s regular season. The Chiefs are coming off back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, but came up short of winning it all last season. While there are no guarantees in the NFL, the Chiefs definitely seem poised to be a Super Bowl contender again this season.
The Chiefs’ success centers on the combination of one of the NFL’s best head coaches in Andy Reid and a core group of elite players that includes quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, defensive lineman Chris Jones, and defensive back Tyrann Mathieu.
As long as that group remains intact and playing at the elite level we’ve come to expect, the Chiefs will be one of the top Super Bowl threats in the entire league. We know that. The NFL as a whole knows that. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved last year that their core group of stars can’t win a Super Bowl completely on their own.
The KC Chiefs will be unbeatable if these players step up.
In the Super Bowl, the wheels finally fell off the offensive line, but hypothetically, it could happen at any position. The NFL is a team game so the Chiefs need to make sure they have a well-rounded roster to support their big name star players and allow them to shine. I think we can all agree on that.
As we anxiously await the Chiefs opener against the Cleveland Browns, I thought I would look at the players that have the possibility to step up this year and turn potential weaknesses into strengths. If these players were to do that, and the Chiefs top stars stay healthy, I simply don’t know how you could beat this team.
Am I predicting that all of these players will do it? No, but I tried to pick players who are realistic options to do so. We aren’t talking about “if this bottom of the roster guy becomes a star” type of picks. Everyone on this list has some real reasons to believe in them.
So let’s kick this list off with one of, if not THE biggest acquisitions of the offseason.