Introduction

This is not supposed to happen. The NFL is built on parity. The Patriots dynasty was meant to be the last. GOAT Head Coach Bill Belichik and GOAT Quarterback Tom Brady had split up. No more cheating scandals (yes, plural). No more MVP-caliber QBs taking team-friendly deals. Yet Veach, Andy Reid, and Patrick Mahomes have made it happen. Coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories, the Chiefs 53-man roster is better than it was last year. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look…

Where the Chiefs Got Worse

Let’s start with this. After coming off a Super Bowl victory, the answer should be "almost everywhere." Instead here it is in order of importance:

1. Starting CB: The Chiefs have decided to replace All-Pro snub LJ Sneed "in the aggregate" with 3 guys drafted in 2022 not named Trent McDuffie: Nazeeh Johnson, Jaylen Watson, and Joshua Williams. Spags’ preference would have been for Williams to step up, but he hasn’t. That leaves Watson and Johnson, who’ve both battled injuries this offseason, with a chance to take over this role. Early in the season, this could be a rotation of some kind. Let’s hope that by the offseason the GOAT DC has it figured out, and the defense is rolling.

2. LB depth: Willie Gay Jr. signed a $3M contract in New Orleans. The Chiefs replaced him with… no one. The bulk of his snaps will go to Leo Chenal and Drue Tranquill as long as Nick Bolton stays healthy. If one of the big 3 goes down, Jack Cochrane looks like the next man up.

3. IOL depth: Nick Allegretti was a super-backup capable of playing all 3 IOL positions. He deserved a chance to start and after signing for a 5th year in KC where he filled in admirably for an injured Joe Thuney in the AFCCG and the Super Bowl, he signed a 3-year starter-level contract in Washington. To replace him the Chiefs drafted both Hunter Nourzad and CJ Hanson. Neither of those guys is at Nick’s level yet. Both have room, and hopefully time, to grow. The backup G is most likely Mike Caliendo who was behind Allegretti on last year’s depth chart, so barring massive improvement that’s a slight, and perhaps temporary, downgrade.

That’s it folks. That’s the list. Of the 53 slots on the roster, 3 are arguably worse, and only 1 is a starter.

Where the Chiefs Got Better

This is embarrassing… for the rest of the NFL GMs. How could they allow the Chiefs to get better at… (again in order of importance)

1. LT: Kingsely Suamataia looks like a real-deal NFL left tackle. The Chiefs drafted him 63rd overall after trading up one spot with the Super Bowl-losing 49ers in the 2nd round. While it’s fair to expect some rookie growing pains, this looks like a real upgrade over Donovan Smith. The Chiefs have a cheap blindside protector for Mahomes for the next 4 years, and then most likely an expensive blindside protector for him for 5-10 years after that.

2. "WR1": Kadarius Toney didn’t even make the 53. While currently dealing with an injury, Hollywood Brown is a significant upgrade. Instead of a guy who can’t line up correctly, we’ve got a guy with a 1,000-yard season in Baltimore’s run-heavy offense. Major upgrade.

3. "deep threat" WR: MVS and his 50% catch rate are gone. Xavier Worthy, the fastest player in NFL Combine history at 4.21 and the former Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year out of Texas, is in. He’s fast. He’s twitchy. He runs great routes. He tracks well, and most importantly… he catches the dang ball!

4. S4: Mike Edwards was one of those guys who was always in the right place at the right time to make a play. His 2023 highlights will not be forgotten. And yet, Mike’s got nothing on Jaden Hicks. Hicks is a beast. He’s so big for a safety that RAS initially had him scored as a LB. He can play virtually every safety role with the possible exception of "center-fielder." While a tad slow, he’s a remarkable athlete. He hits like a Mack truck. He covers. He tackles. He’s smart. In short, he can do it all. He’s another Swiss army knife-type defender for Spags to confuse opponents with. Dane Brugler’s #1 safety in the 2024 draft should not have been there for the Chiefs to take at pick 133, but he was. And the rest of the NFL is going to pay for it the next 4 years.

5. RB3: We all knew it was going to happen. This last year we saw it happen. The wheels fell off Jerick McKinnon. I love the Jet, but he lost something last season. The back half of 2022 and the post-season run he was a weapon on 3rd down. Then last year, nothing. He fell off a cliff. That’s the life-cycle of an NFL RB. In comes UDFA Carson "The Man of" Steele out of UCLA by way of Ball State. He’s a bruiser, a blocker, and a decent pass-catcher. We may have seen the last days of Chiefs fans clamoring for a QB sneak after a failed short-yardage situation because I’m not sure Carson can fail. He’s a beast. He runs people over. He stiff-arms. He’s stays upright. He’s going to leave some guys wishing they hadn’t tried to tackle him.

6. P: Though Tommy Townsend did have the occasional shank, he was 1st Team All-Pro his 2nd season. Araiza is better. The "punt god" (small "g" on that one, folks) will be a weapon when the Chiefs fail to score. He’s got the distance. He’s got the hang time. He’s got the lefty spin. He’s got the cool nickname. Let’s go!

7. QB2: How do you upgrade your QB room when you have the GOAT-in-waiting? Replace an older journeyman backup with a younger former MVP candidate. Gabbert may have the better head on his shoulders, but Wentz has the better everything else. It will not surprise me, should Carson get the chance to play a couple games, if he gets signed as a bridge QB next off-season.

8. WR depth: Richie James and Justyn Ross have been replaced by Juju Smith-Schuster (Chiefs WR1 in 2022) and SB LVIII hero Mecole Hardman. Juju was brought in as a pure possession WR. When we need to move the chains, look for him to go in. Mecole is a speedster who has been a Pro Bowl returner. He may not see the WR snaps he has in the past, but he can contribute in a pinch while giving the Chiefs a solid return man.

9. TE depth: The Belldozer and his short-yardage shenanigans have left KC for good. In his place, the Chiefs have brought in two young guys:

9.1.Jared Wiley may be the Travis Kelce protégé fans have been longing for.

9.2.Peyton Hendershot may be the true "pass-blocking" TE replacement. Giving up a conditional 7th rounder in 2026 is the price of doing business as the Chiefs look to 3-peat. (If you want your money Pat Riley*, come and get it!)

10.DT depth: Last year, the Chiefs looked to get younger by drafting Keondre Coburn and trading for Neil Farrell. Coburn was cut and signed to the practice squad before being poached away by the Broncos. After doing next to nothing last season, Farrell was cut this year, and we’ll see if he gets picked up elsewhere or signed to the practice squad. And it’s the return of the old man: Mike "MVP" Pennel. After a masterful post-season of run-stuffing, Pennel earned a spot on the 90-man and now 53-man roster. Pennel is an NFL player. Coburn and Farrell, not so much. This is a small but real upgrade, even if it may be for only one year.

11.OT depth: Last year, the Chiefs kept both Lucas Niang and Prince Tega Wanogho. PTW wasn’t re-signed in KC this year. Niang was on the last year of his rookie deal because of his COVID exemption, but didn’t look particularly mobile during the pre-season. UDFA out of Marshall Ethan Driskell beat out Niang with a size (6’8") and athleticism you can’t teach. I don’t want to see him out there this season except for special teams and blowouts, but with some technique work, he could be another diamond in the rough find by Veach and the front office.

12.CB depth: Last year’s CB6 was Darius Rush who didn’t make it through the whole season on the roster. This year, we’re starting with Christian Roland-Wallace, a UDFA out of USC by way of Arizona, who has been a play-maker on both defense and special teams this off-season. He appears to have corner-safety versatility which is always welcome by Spags and Veach. Together with Steele and Driskell, that’s 3 UDFA’s Veach found for this year’s 3-peat-seeking squad.

*Pat Riley holds the patent for the term "3-peat" in all its various iterations.

Brief Analysis

The Chiefs got worse at one starting position. One.

They got better at the second-most important position: LT. And then they got better at four WR spots, safety, punter, and short-yardage RB not to mention depth at multiple spots.

Barring injuries, their lack of depth at LB and IOL may have zero impact on the season. Zero.

Outside of losing our All-Pro’s, the biggest concern might be OL depth in general and OT in particular, but that’s every team in the NFL. San Francisco without Trent Williams is what, a fringe playoff team? Philly without Jordan Mailata and/or Lane Johnson, do they even make the playoffs? There just aren’t that many guys walking the earth with the size and athleticism to do what these men do.

Conclusion

After all the off-season "roster rankings," I would put the Chiefs at #1. They just won the Super Bowl, and they somehow got better at 12 spots and worse at 3 spots. Even if some of the other top contenders didn’t have drama (SF, CIN, PHI) or huge off-season losses (BAL, PHI, BUF, MIA, DAL, LAR), I’d still be looking at KC as #1. Detroit, Green Bay, and Houston may have improved, but they also could slide back a little after over-achieving a bit in 2023. Two other teams that could be on the rise after narrowly missing the playoffs are Chicago and Jacksonville, but I don’t see either of them unseating the Chiefs this year.

How does Veach do it? I don’t know. But he’s just taken his bottom-of-the-round draft picks and limited cap room, and made the Super Bowl champions better. God bless him.

For discussion

1. Are there any significant changes I missed?

2. Are there any takes you disagree with?

3. Are you as amazed as I am at what Veach & Co. have done this off-season?