The Kansas City Chiefs May Need to Reinvent

A 2025 off-season guide to the Kansas City Chiefs.

It might be odd to suggest that a team that has been to three straight Super Bowls, won two, and just went 15-2, weren’t exactly great this year, but the Kansas City Chiefs may need to reinvent their offense.

Here’s a fun thread that goes into how much of an anomaly the team was in 2024: https://x.com/sbouska2/status/1890118674570510714

Initially, they stayed ahead of the NFL and transformed with a vastly different approach, turning into a slow and steady offense instead of the explosive one they came out of the gate with. In Patrick Mahomes first five seasons the team ranked 1st, 5th, 6th, 4th, and 1st in scoring. In between two Super Bowl victories that flipped, ranking 15th in both of the last two seasons where the defense became the heavyweight, 2nd in scoring in 2023, and 4th this past year. Mahomes' output reflects this— over the past two seasons he’s posted career lows in yards, touchdowns (tied with 2019), success rate, quarterback rating, and a high in sacks.

The shift wasn’t without success, they rode the defense to championships against the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. But it all fell apart in the 2024 rematch with Philly when the offense put up historically poor numbers.

Unlike the Super Bowl against Tampa Bay when Mahomes looked good but the team was ultimately outplayed, the Chiefs looked helpless and unprepared against the Eagles. So what did they do when originally beaten in the big game? They remedied the problem.

Kevin Sabitus/Getty

The Offensive Line

The offensive line was a major factor in the Super Bowl LV loss to the Buccaneers, and then again four years later against the Eagles. In between those events this line was dominant and paved the way to two more championships. So, how did they fix it and why did it fall apart again?

• Released veteran offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, both of whom missed Super Bowl LV due to injury.

• Signed Joe Thuney, Austin Blythe, and Kyle Long. Thuney was an instant upgrade, but the others failed to do much other than provide depth, but it was a signal that they wouldn’t leave any stone unturned.

• Traded for Orlando Brown Jr., who was serviceable.

• Drafted Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, with Humphrey as a second-round steal and Smith an even better find in the sixth round, providing two reliable starters.

The Chiefs got much younger across the line while adding an instant impact free agent in Thuney. Orlando Brown was a risky move who was able to at least fill a hole and wasn’t a problem until it came down to an extension. While he held down one tackle spot, the other side remained a rotation but was at least able to be accounted for.

When Brown walked in free agency, the Chiefs used that money on Jawaan Taylor, a career right tackle. Taylor also came with his highs and lows on the field, but this only shifted the need to the other side.

Kansas City has tried to address this position in the draft, spending capital on the following players since 2020:

• Lucas Niang (3.96)

• Darian Kinnard (5.145)

• Wanya Morris (3.92)

• Kingsley Suamataia (2.63)

This cast has not panned out thus far. Morris and Suamataia were both considered ‘upside’ prospects who may take time to develop, but the team turned to neither when filling the left tackle position during their last playoff run, instead playing Joe Thuney out of position.

Decisions to Make:

• Right guard Trey Smith is due a new contract and is expected to be highly sought after in free agency. Losing him means there’s another hole to plug on a line that was just dominated in the Super Bowl. Paying him means an extreme financial investment into the offensive line, likely at the cost of some of the defenders.

• Left tackle needs to be solved, but how confident are the Chiefs in their young players taking over? Investing more draft resources into the position could be at the detriment of other needs and a signal that neither player on the roster is the answer, but they risk 2025 by going into the season without an answer.

Free Agency

• Tyron Smith

• Ronnie Stanley

• Cam Robinson

• Alaric Jackson

• DJ Humphries

This is not a bad tackle class of free agents but there is a clear age and talent discrepancy. Tyron Smith may be willing to take a contender discount and would be an excellent upgrade but at age 34 with an injury history makes him just as sketchy of a bet for a contender. They could simply return DJ Humphries who was already on the roster. With an off-season to get healthier and plenty of experience, perhaps he’d be the easiest fit, but the team did not feel comfortable playing him last season after he was signed.

Others may require more money and a longer commitment or would be a simple stop-gap toward a bigger investment later on.

Draft

• Josh Conerly Jr, Oregon

• Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota

• Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College

I don’t believe the Chiefs want to invest many more high picks into a developmental tackle, making Conerly and Ersery more of the same for what they have.

However, Trapilo is a much more interesting candidate for me, a player who offers far more instant impact as a rookie.

They can also get the best of both worlds with a tackle/guard prospect, a player who has experience at both or translates better to guard. This could be a replacement for Trey Smith early and potentially a starting tackle down the line. Prospects that fit this mold are:

• Wyatt Milum, West Virginia

• Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona

Skill Positions

There was no one to bail out the Chiefs when Mahomes became skittish and the offensive line struggled.

Travis Kelce returned career-low numbers over the last two seasons, and despite a strong divisional-round performance that may have looked like he dipped back into the fountain of youth, he was largely invisible for the final two playoff games. He’ll be turning 36 next season with plenty of extracurriculars off the field. After his Super Bowl performance, he may not hang it up, but the Chiefs can’t count on him to be a lead receiver.

Rashee Rice looked like an excellent option as a rookie, but a torn ACL and looming suspension could delay the offense's resurgence. Xavier Worthy has added a spark to the passing game, but he has yet to develop as a true ball-winner or refined route runner. These two can be counted on for the long term and serve as building blocks to this new offense, but they’ll need another threat to support them.

The run game is worse off. The team called on Kareem Hunt to carry the load after Isiah Pacheco’s mid-season injury, a savvy quick fix but not savvy enough to keep from being deleted in the Super Bowl. Pacheco may be the ideal, hard-running RB2 in this offense but it has become difficult to believe he’ll lead a dominant, or at least successful, backfield.

At a minimum, the Chiefs need a co-starter at running back, and ideally, a true third option in the passing game— someone who can temporarily moonlight as a full-time starter.

Decisions to Make:

• Hollywood Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, and Juju Smith-Schuster were all stopgap options and brought little to the Super Bowl. All free agents who’ve taken a backseat to the youth, I wouldn’t expect most of them to return. Brown is the most appealing option but doesn’t offer anything Rice or Worthy don’t already.

• Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine are free agents and quickly took priority over rookie Carson Steele. Perine is a serviceable 3rd down back, but it’ll be interesting if the team wants to keep their committee approach with Hunt as part of the deal.

• A decision around Travis Kelce may not be up to them. If he doesn’t retire, I can’t imagine the team wouldn’t welcome him back. But, how they approach his usage and potential replacement would still be a crucial decision.

Free Agency

• Tee Higgins

• Chris Godwin

• Aaron Jones

• Jaylen Warren

The free-agent pool is slim at these positions. Higgins and Godwin are almost certainly priced out of the Chiefs price range but would fit very well into the offense. At running back I really like to pair Pacheco with a strong compliment and both Jones and Warren add a little more speed and backfield presence. Neither would be the answer at running back but could add more juice than what they got in the Super Bowl.

Draft

• Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State

• Tre Harris, Mississippi

• Jack Bech, TCU

• Cam Skattebo, Arizona State

• TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State

• Devin Neal, Kansas

• Elijah Arroyo, Miami

• Mason Taylor, LSU

• Gunnar Helm, Texas

You don’t have to replace Travis Kelce with a tight end. Functionally, getting a reliable slot receiver would do the trick, and Egbuka is as high of a floor for a prospect as you can get. Not only is he reliable but gets after it in the run game, making him a quick plug-and-play.

However, if we want to keep the bully ball aspect alive, two thick receivers in Bech and Harris can overpower most slot corners and have the reliable hands to work over the middle of the field.

The Chiefs haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Mahomes sat as a rookie in favor of Alex Smith. They tried this once by selecting Clyde Edwards-Helaire, passing on Jonathan Taylor for the back who could do a little more out of the backfield and as a receiver, ironically transitioning to a heavier ground-and-pound and control approach later on.

I’m almost positive they will spend a reasonable pick on a running back assuming they stick with their current identity.

Cam Skattebo does a little both as an excellent receiver with a mean streak as a runner. If they want something quite different than Pacheco, Henderson and Neal both offer more explosiveness and lateral quickness, and a low moving cost for the latter.

Or you can replace a tight end with a tight end. Noah Gray will be first in line but luckily for the Chiefs, this is a stacked tight end class. Some of these guys are essentially slot receivers, others can do a little more tight to the line, but taking a shot somewhere in this mix seems like a no-brainer.

Defense Still Exists

The defense isn’t our focus here today but it’s important to remember. The Chiefs likely don’t want to forgo that side of the ball while Steve Spagnuolo is still in charge and coming off two excellent seasons.

But as always, decisions have to be made. Safety Justin Reid, linebacker Nick Bolton, and lineman Tershawn Wharton are all free agents and combined for over 2,500 snaps. Other depth pieces, most notably on the line, like Mike Pennel, Derrick Nnadi, and Charles Omenihu also need new deals. Omenihu missed most of the season but played in over 50% of snaps over the final nine games of the year.

The Chiefs cannot go all in on rebuilding the offense without giving up key defensive pieces.

Resources

The Kansas City Chiefs cannot get too complacent and assume their 15-win season will be easily repeated, but the weight of multiple championships and blowout loss will prove difficult to overcome.

The team will not have a lot of cap space to work with but they can still be aggressive if they push out contracts to go all in on the next couple years. I wouldn’t expect them to take that route, opting instead to keep their money flow relatively stable while Mahomes is in his prime. That will limit them to extensions and some depth and spot starters in free agency.

The team does have the Titans 3rd round pick which is near the top of the round, giving them two picks at 63 and 66, which should allow them to be rather aggressive on day two of the draft. While I won’t be surprised if their first-round pick is used on a defender, I’d expect a high selection on a running back and an offensive line.

They’ve proven they can adapt before, but this time, their survival may depend on how well they reinvent their offensive identity while keeping their defensive juggernaut intact.