8. The Chiefs finish top 10 in team sacks
In 2021, Kansas City mustered an incredibly impressive 31 sacks as a team – through a 17 game season – for an average of 1.82 sacks per game. This was good enough for the Chiefs defense to rank 29th league wide in terms of sacks registered! Yes, that’s abysmal. For comparison’s sake, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who led the NFL in sacks in 2021, registered 55 quarterback takedowns, or nearly twice as many as Kansas City did. When we consider that the Chiefs played many of their contests with the lead, forcing their opponents into pass heavy game scripts, and giving the defense even more opportunities to get into the backfield.
Simply put, Kansas City was quite ineffective (read: bad) at rushing the passer in 2021. It was glaringly obvious at season’s end that this was the biggest weakness on the roster and everyone in the Kingdom expected Kansas City to make significant investments in edge rushers this season, and they did, kind of. The Chiefs did not make a big splash in free agency nor did they pursue a trade for a proven veteran. Instead, general manager Brett Veach and company used their (original) first round pick on edge rush George Karlaftis, signed veteran Carlos Dunlap and are relying on an improved season from defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive end Frank Clark to revitalize the team’s pass rush. In addition, though, Kansas City seems to be placing a premium on back end players (linebackers and secondary players) who can blitz situationally and get to the quarterback. Players like rookies linebacker Leo Chenal, safety Brian Cook and cornerbacks Joshua Williams and Jaylon Watson, coupled with returning corner L’Jarius Sneed all possess solid blitzing skills and should get opportunities to register sacks.
In 2021, the top 10 defenses in terms of sacks registered all had at least 43. Realistically, then, the Chiefs should be looking for around 2.5 sacks per game. Frankly, with as young as the secondary is, they could stand to generate a lot more pressure than that if they’re too see early success from the young group. But, we believe in their ability to be more productive, and target around 45 team sacks this season to finish in the top 10.
7. The offensive line is the best in football by every metric
This one is a bit of a cheat given that ESPN has already projected that Kansas City will have the best offensive line in football in 2022. Nonetheless and despite that, we think that they’ve still undersold how good this unit will be.
"It’s hard to imagine an investment in the offensive line going much better than what the Chiefs did a year ago. That’s most notable on the interior, where they drafted or signed the No. 1 center in pass block win rate in Humphrey and Nos. 1 and 2 guards in Thuney and Smith. They were home run moves and particularly remarkable considering Smith was a sixth-round pick."
ESPN projects the number one ranked pass blocking team and the 5th ranked run blocking team from the 2022 Chiefs. But, the run blocking win rate is likely to be even more superior to that, though it may not look like it if the team’s struggles at running back continue.
It is truly remarkable how much continuity offensive line coach Andy Heck has in his room this year. Not only are all of last year’s starters back and ready to go, but the team also has reliable and holdover backup Nick Allegretti in the fold to. Consider that it’s possible that the only other lineman on the roster, Prince Tega Wanogho, spent the entirety of the last two seasons in the Chiefs’ organization, and you start to realize just how truly special this group can be.