Well they finally did it, after several disappointing playoff runs over the last handful of years the Kansas City Chiefs have won the Super Bowl. A feat that as a fan dating back to the Tony Gonzalez/ Larry Johnson/ Trent Green era, has been long awaited. It’s safe to say this Championship will secure a spot among the all-time greats and immortality in Canton for Andy Reid. It also gives this team so much hope for future championships in years to come. In just two full seasons as the starting QB, Patrick Mahomes has compiled 9,128 pass yards, 76 pass TDs, only 17 INTs, 490 rush yards, 4 rush TDs, a 23-7 record, an MVP, 2 Pro Bowls, and now a Super Bowl title at only the age of 24. Not even counting his playoff numbers of 1,474 pass yards, 13 TDs, only 2 INTs, 106.6 QBR, 154 rush yards, 3 rush TDs, and a 4-1 playoff record. No doubt the generational talent of Patrick Mahomes is the main reason the Chiefs not only brought a title back to KC but look to become an NFL Dynasty for years to come. But this year can’t just be looked at how well our QB played, the overall effort from the entire team and the way the defense bounced back in the second half of the year were main reasons why the Chiefs did what they did.
Prior to the season, the Chiefs looked to revamp their defense after a historically terrible year on that side of the football in 2018. The first move was bringing in long tenured Defensive Coordinator and 2x Super Bowl Champion Steve Spagnuolo to lead the way. The team approached free agency very strictly, some of the first moves were to cut former All-Pro’s, Safety Eric Berry and Defensive End Justin Houston, both on lucrative contracts that could be eliminated to free up money. With DE Dee Ford coming off a career year, there was some doubt around the franchise whether he was worth the money he would demand in free agency. The team decided to flip him for a 2020 2nd round pick from the 49ers who gave him a 4 year extension. This move led way for the team to trade for Frank Clark of the Seattle Seahawks and give him a 5 year, $105.5m contract. Once free agency began, the Chiefs landed star Safety Tyrann Mathieu to a 3 year, $42m deal to lead the secondary, a move that I truly believe was a catalyst to winning the Super Bowl. Quickly, Clark and Mathieu became the faces of the defense and the glue that held it together. More veterans were added to the defense including DE’s Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah, CB’s Bashaud Breeland and Morris Claiborne, and LB Darron Lee, and during the season acquisitions of DE Terrell Suggs and DT Mike Pennel. But the biggest moves might have been the Chiefs strong defensive Rookie class they introduced this season. Consisting of 2nd Round S Juan Thornhill, 3rd Round DT Khalen Saunders, and 6th Round DB Rashaad Fenton all played huge snaps throughout the season and implemented themselves as key pieces to the defense. There were definitely some growing pains early on in the year but after the 6-4 start and doubt beginning to circle around the team from the media, the Chiefs would never lose again led by their much improved defense, they would finish 12-4 and win Super Bowl LIV.
The offense for the most part really did not need to get touched up at all after a historic season and one of the best years by a QB ever in 2018 for Patrick Mahomes. Everyone was mostly still under contract and the core looked very similar to the 2018 season that had so much success. The only real question mark surrounding the team was the RB issue after Kareem Hunt was released during the season prior. The Chiefs though were not worried about signing a big free agent and instead extended Damien Williams who had a very good second half of the 2018 season after replacing Hunt as RB1. LeSean McCoy was added on during the preseason after being cut by the Buffalo Bills and saw some time although being riddled with injuries. 2nd Round WR Mecole Hardman made his impact known right off the bat as a lethal speedster to go along with Tyreek Hill. Hardman took over Punt return duties for Hill who is now the WR1 and became a Pro Bowl returner in his Rookie season. 6th round RB Darwin Thompson was added to the depth and saw some solid snaps throughout the season as the main RB3. The Chiefs offensive line was shaken up a bit after losing C Mitch Morse during free agency to the Buffalo Bills and injuries keeping G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and T Cameron Erving on the shelf for a while. Pro Bowl T Eric Fisher would miss half the season and All-Pro T Mitchell Schwartz remained consistent all year. Second year undrafted G Andrew Wylie saw a ton of time on the starting line along with veteran G Stefen Wisniewski who was added on during the season. C Austin Reiter took over for Morse in the role and started all 16 games for the team. Although the run game struggled a bit during the season, with no one rushing for more than 500 yards and Williams and McCoy both plagued with injuries, the passing game continued it’s dominance. In Mahomes’ 14 games he played (missing basically 3 whole games due to injury) passed for 4,031 yards, 26 TDs, 5 INTs, and a 105.3 QBR. Veteran Matt Moore was all set to retire and begin coaching in High School during the 2019 season when a preseason injury to backup QB Chad Henne would cost him the entire season. Andy Reid called up Moore who agreed to be the Chiefs backup QB. Not thinking he’d see any time, Mahomes’ leg injury allowed Matt Moore to start 2 games, play in a total of 6 games, and he did not disappoint. Moore threw for 659 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, and a QBR of 100.9, game managing his way to a win against the Vikings and a close loss to the Packers. And as always, the Chiefs weapons in the passing game did not disappoint. TE Travis Kelce caught for 1,229 yards, 6 total TDs, and became the first TE ever to catch for over 1,000 yards in four straight seasons. WR Tyreek Hill missed a few games with injury but still caught for 860 yards and 7 TDs. Sammy Watkins added 673 yards and 3 TDs, Demarcus Robinson had 449 yards and 4 TDs, and Mecole Hardman had 538 yards and 6 TDs. RB Damien Williams added to his 498 rushing yards with 213 receiving yards and 7 total TDs, while LeSean McCoy added 465 rushing yards, 181 receiving yards, and 5 total TDs.
So what’s the plan for next year? Well first things first the Chiefs don’t have very many free agents. Their key pieces are all under contract including Mahomes for 2 more years (although he’ll be getting most likely the biggest contract in league history either this offseason or next). Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the key players who are still under contract:
| Player: | Contract Remaining: | Can be cut: |
| DE Frank Clark | 4 years, $86.5m | 2022 |
| WR Tyreek Hill | 3 years, $49.5m | 2021 |
| LT Eric Fisher | 2 years, $20.8m | – |
| TE Travis Kelce | 2 years, $18m | – |
| LB Anthony Hitchens | 3 years, $23.5m | 2020 |
| S Tyrann Mathieu | 2 years, $26.2m | 2021 |
| T Mitchell Schwartz | 2 years, $11.9m | – |
| HB Damien Williams | 1 year, $2.3m | Team Option |
| K Harrison Butker | 5 years, $20.3m | – |
| LB Damien Wilson | 1 year, $3m | Team Option |
| CB Charvarius Ward | 1 year, $660k | – |
With all of these guys basically looking to come back for years to come, some other players who are under contract are eligible to be cut to free up money this offseason. WR Sammy Watkins can be cut with 1 year and $14m left on his contract, along with G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif with 3 years, $22.7m left, and DE Alex Okafor with 2 years, $10.9m left. Technically, Anthony Hitchens can also be cut although I think it’s unlikely and personally I think all three of these guys will be cut to free up money for Free Agents and Re-signings. The Chiefs key free agents this offseason consist of: DT Chris Jones, LB Reggie Ragland, FB Anthony Sherman, DE Terrell Suggs, HB LeSean McCoy, DT Xavier Williams, CB Morris Claiborne, CB Bashaud Breeland, DE Emmanuel Ogbah, G Stefen Wisniewski, CB Kendall Fuller, WR Demarcus Robinson, DT Mike Pennel, and T Andrew Wylie. With RB Damien Williams, LB Damien Wilson, and T Cam Erving on Team options who I think will all be picked up. I personally think the top priorities to bring back should be, Chris Jones (who will most likely be franchise tagged and signed long-term), Anthony Sherman, Kendall Fuller, Stefen Wisniewski, and Mike Pennel. I think both Wisniewski and Pennel brought good veteran leadership and will be cheap. Anthony Sherman will most likely return on a 1 or 2 year deal or retire, and Kendall Fuller I think should be a top CB to bring back to put alongside Ward and sign/draft some more secondary pieces. As for McCoy and Suggs, I think they will both end up retiring this offseason as Champions. I also would love to bring back Demarcus Robinson but my gut thinks that he’ll get a contract that we won’t be able to match similar to the Albert Wilson situation. Claiborne and/or Breeland definitely could return as veteran CB’s although I think it is unlikely Morris will. With the emergence of Derrick Nnadi and Khalen Saunders, Xavier Williams fell out of the rotation and will most likely leave. Ogbah, Ragland, and Wylie all probably sign elsewhere as well.
As far as the available free agents I think the Chiefs should target, there aren’t too many. The main important thing will be to free up some money, sign Jones long term, and worry about the rest later. The only real free agent positions to look at could be LB, OL, CB, and maybe a cheap RB. G Brandon Scherff from Washington is intriguing and if LDT is released should be a big target. If on the odd chance Anthony Hitchens and/or Damien Wilson is let go, I think Blake Martinez from Green Bay and Joe Schobert from Cleveland could be good options. If KC does decide to look for a CB1 Logan Ryan could be an option, or cheaper veterans like Trae Waynes and Rashaan Melvin. A core of Ward, Fuller, Fenton, and a couple of veterans like Waynes, and Melvin or Breeland could be the way to go. The Chiefs are currently looking at the 32nd pick and the 63rd via Seattle in the first two rounds. CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli’s most recent mock draft has the Chiefs taking TCU CB Jeff Gladney at 32. I definitely want to see a CB or a RB being taken in that pick possibly even HB J.K. Dobbins from Ohio State. Just to add some depth to the already solid core of Damien Williams, Darrel Williams, and Darwin Thompson. If the team decided to go in a more experienced route, I would like to see Peyton Barber from Tampa Bay or Chris Thompson from Washington being options at RB2. Bringing back Kareem Hunt is an idea I’ve thought about, not going to lie, but one that is probably very unlikely.
No matter what happens this offseason with the Chiefs I don’t think it’ll be drastic. This core is built to win and the important pieces will all be back, and I think, they’ll be back for a long time. What an amazing year it was for Chiefs Kingdom and it made all those other heartbreaking years us fans have dealt with so worth it just to see Mahomes and Reid hold up that Lombardi. A new dynasty could be forming in the NFL, and I can’t wait to be there through the ride.
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