Saying that the Kansas City Chiefs are going to be good in 2025 shouldn't be considered counter-cultural, but the landscape of NFL offseason media is such that you'd think the Los Angeles Chargers or Denver Broncos had ruled the division for the last nine years. Even the Las Vegas Raiders seem to get more plays about their potential upside than any sort of statements crediting the Chiefs for their sustained success.
Okay, we're likely overstating the issue here.
Maybe the Raiders aren't convincing anyone that they're going to be a contender anytime soon, but there's no denying the abundance of overly positive projections about the Chiefs' primary division rivals in the AFC West every offseason.
It feels like every year is the year the Chargers will rise up and claim the division. It seems like the Broncos are being hailed as the franchise that will supplant K.C. this year. Everyone goes out of their way to not talk about the Chiefs.
It's about time someone said the obvious about the Chiefs' chances in 2025.
That's not the case with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Despite the last glimpse of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs being a broken one, the result of an abysmal showing against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, Breer remembers well the Chiefs' run of dominance since Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback.
As he discusses the season ahead, Breer remains bullish on the Chiefs' chances to return to the podium as Super Bowl champs, and he detailed the reasons why in a recent episode of The Breer Report. Those reasons begin with a refreshed wide receiver corps that should finally be healthy in 2025 and a retooled offensive front.
"If that vision plays out on offense, in the offensive skill group, if that vision plays, if the position battles play out the way they're hoping they do on the offensive line, I think Patrick Mahomes has a chance to go downfield more. I think the vision they had in 2024 plays out in 2025 and they could wind up being more dangerous," said Breer.
Breer acknowledges that some of the team's pillars are cresting the hill in age, and it's hard to tell when a player might hit the wall. But the roster remains loaded, top to bottom.
"It could get older in spots—Chris Jones, Travis Kelce—obviously they've got some age there, but I think this has got a chance again to be a really, really good team," said Breer.
"It should be a team that has full expectation of being there on championship weekend, and they’ve been there seven years in a row, whether or not they make it eight, I think is sort of the bar for them," he continued. "And then if you get there, who knows what can happen from there. So I think they're very much in play to be every bit as good, maybe even better than they were a year ago."
The Chiefs have proven well their ability to win doesn't hinge on anyone's belief in them, but it's nice to hear it all the same. We've got a feeling that the only one looking good by season's end will be Breer when reflecting back on offseason takes.