Four biggest non-draft questions facing KC Chiefs

Which young players will step up?

The page has been turned by the front office this season, and the locker room is going to feel quite a bit younger in the fall. Between Hitchens and Mathieu, Hill and Sorensen, Demarcus Robinson, and Mike Remmers, the Chiefs allowed a lot of experience to leave Arrowhead this spring and many of those roles will be replaced by rookies.

While the Chiefs still welcome back the likes of Travis Kelce on offense and Chris Jones on defense, the truth is that the Chiefs are going to be quite green on both sides of the ball in ’22 as they pour a new foundation. The good news is that the coaching staff has loads of continuity to steer the course of so much promising talent.

The coaches will look to some players to pick up the mantle, however, and that’s especially true on defense. Can Nick Bolton or Willie Gay Jr. turn into a leader in the heart of the defense? Can Jones take on more of a mentoring presence? What about Juan Thornhill in the secondary? Can a new face like Smith-Schuster or MVS provide some veteran leadership in the receivers’ room?

If the Chiefs fall prey to the same mental mistakes and careless errors that plagued them early in the ’21 season, they will be missing some of the key players who helped them right the ship through those challenges a year ago. That means some others will need to step up in their absence as future leaders and captains on this team.