5 vital questions the Kansas City Chiefs must answer before the postseason

4. How good can the linebacking corps be?

What's exciting about the Chiefs' defense is that they've done this without linebacker Nick Bolton for all but four games. Coming into the season, the depth of the linebacking corps was a huge strength and the Chiefs needed all of it. Fortunately, their bye week will help Willie Gay's tailbone heal and give Nick Bolton another week to rest his wrist.

The Chiefs have an opportunity to improve upon what the defense has done if they use their pieces well. Drue Tranquill has shown he's the best coverage linebacker the Chiefs have. Bolton brings more to the run game and also seems to make more splash plays as well. Gay has taken a big step forward this year and Leo Chenal remains a hammer seeking a nail.

It's likely that Bolton will play the remainder of the year with some sort of cast/brace which will also limit his ability in the pass game. Tranquill needs to be on the field for passing downs over Bolton, Chenal and Gay are wild cards who bring different skill sets to the table.

5. What is this rookie class?

One of the biggest miscalculations of this offense was the team's belief in Skyy Moore. Brett Veach and Andy Reid thought they had a player who could fill a hole on the roster and they appear to be wrong thus far. Moore didn't play much last year so he was an unknown commodity against NFL competition.

Other than Rashee Rice, most of the 2023 rookie class is in the same situation this year. The Chiefs need to know what they have in Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Wanya Morris, Chamarri Conner, BJ Thompson, and Nic Jones. All of them have a path to playing time in 2024 with names like Chris Jones, Mike Danna, L'Jarius Sneed, Donovan Smith, and Derek Nnadi set to be free agents. Can they be viable NFL starters? Or are they just depth?