The doubters are out in full force this offseason, and somehow, despite chasing the first Super Bowl three-peat in NFL history and establishing the league's latest dynasty, the Kansas City Chiefs are once again finding themselves overlooked in offseason power rankings.
Our friends at Sports Illustrated recently dropped their post-free agency power rankings, and Conor Orr has the Chiefs coming at No. 4 overall—fourth. One would think the reigning AFC champs with so much roster and coaching continuity would earn a bit more respect in the process.
To clarify the list, the Philadelphia Eagles are deservedly on top after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy just a few months ago. The Eagles have a loaded roster even after free agency and should be the tema to beat once again in the NFC.
The latest round of NFL power rankings are out and the Chiefs have their doubters once again.
From, the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions are both slotted in front of Kansas City. This isn't the first dalliance with offseason love for either of these teams. Both were popular picks one year ago to be championship contenders in 2024. Just ask the Lions how that felet going one-and-done in the postseason.
FOX Sports comes up with the same placement for the Chiefs in their most recent power rankings, with the same trio of teams coming in 1-3 (just with the Lions and Bills with switched positions). Over at The Athletic, a ranking of all NFL rosters before the draft also puts the Chiefs in fourth, behind the Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Lions.
Fourth isn't the worst place to be, but the Chiefs just won 15 games despite Patrick Mahomes playing without his top running back and top wide receivers for the vast majority of the year. Not to mention, the void at left tackle had Mahomes often running for his life without a game-breaker in the backfield to ease the load. .
This spring, the Chiefs are facing roster problems along the offensive line and it didn't help that they shipped off left guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round selection. However every team has more than one cause for concern, and K.C. has plenty of time to address those issues between the NFL draft, preseason pick-ups, and the league's trade deadline.
In the end, none of this will matter, but it's always interesting to see the way that NFL analysts view the Chiefs with a quizzical look despite such a strong record of sustained (and unmatched) success.