Perhaps this is a huge overreaction, especially since the Kansas City Chiefs just won their second Super Bowl in four years, but perhaps the beginning of a small decline for this team is on the horizon. When you take Patrick Mahomes out of the picture and look at the rest of the roster, it's pretty below average in my opinion.
Outside of Travis Kelce, who is in his mid-30s, the Chiefs don't have much else on offense. Their interior offensive line is solid, but that's about it. Their defense is also a bit iffy on paper. Outside of Chris Jones, who is still holding out over a contract dispute, the Chiefs' defense is pretty below average on paper as well.
Perhaps I am totally wrong and those reading this are already rolling their eyes, but I really don't think the Chiefs have a great roster. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid might be the best QB/HC duo in NFL history when it's all said and done. Reid might be a top-five head coach of all time, and Mahomes might already be an all-time great. The likelihood of an NFL team having that type of set-up with their QB and HC is virtually impossible, but the Chiefs have it.
I think they elevate the rest of the team so much that you can't really quantify it. Well, perhaps the Chiefs won't be as good this year as they were in previous years. Their best defensive player by a longshot, Chris Jones, has still not reported to the team over a contract dispute, and the Chiefs play a game on Thursday, so this holdout seems to be genuine from Jones.
Without having Jones in the middle of that defense, the Chiefs' D is simply not a good unit. Their pass rush takes a huge hit and I don't think they have a particularly good secondary anyway. And then, another injury popped up, this time with their best playmaker on offense, Travis Kelce.
#Chiefs star TE Travis Kelce’s status is in doubt for Thursday night’s opener vs. the #Lions because of his knee injury, but sources tell me and @TomPelissero it’s not believed to be a long-term injury. They’ll wait for swelling to go down and go from there. pic.twitter.com/pzuOYz2wt2
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 5, 2023
Knee injuries are no joke, and my bet is that the Chiefs hold Kelce out of Week 1 and see how his knee feels after that game. There is a real possibility that KC goes into Week 1 without Chris Jones and Travis Kelce, their second and third-best players. Travis Kelce also turns 34 in October, so his age is most definitely something that could catch up to him this year.
Yes, since Mahomes is still in the equation, the Chiefs will always be near the top of the league, but perhaps we'll see this team decline just a little bit this year. Maybe I'm way off and maybe this team will again win a ton of games and make a deep playoff run. But the AFC is massively talented, and I'm not sure the Chiefs have a top-five roster on paper in the AFC. Also, consider some more up-and-coming teams in the conference that could also make some noise.
Here's hoping the Chiefs decline a bit in 2023.