Leading up to kickoff of the 2026 NFL season, TeamFB7 is going in-depth on each team from its strengths and weaknesses to breakout players, intriguing rookies and overall predictions. Next up are the Kansas City Chiefs, who get started Monday night vs. the Denver Broncos.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 season is one of the more improbable regressions in the NFL in recent memory.
Sure, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustained a season-ending knee injury, but that wasn’t until Week 15. The Chiefs’ season was already a disaster by that point.
And nobody could have seen it coming.
Prior to the 6-11 finish last year, Kansas City …
– Had 12 straight winning seasons to start coach Andy Reid’s tenure, never finishing worse than 9-7 and winning double-digit games in 11 of those seasons.
– Made the AFC championship game in each of Mahomes’ first seven seasons as a starter, while playing in five Super Bowls and winning three.
– Had played in three straight Super Bowls and five of the past six overall.
So was it the end of Kansas City’s “dynasty” or just an anomaly and hiccup before they return to the Chiefs of old again in 2026?
Kansas City Chiefs Reset
2025 Finish: 6-11, missed playoffs
Head Coach: Andy Reid, 14th season (149-64 with Chiefs, 18-8 in postseason with three Super Bowl titles; 279-157-1 overall and 28-17 in postseason including time with Eagles)
Hot Seat Meter (0-10): 0
Offensive Coordinator: Eric Bieniemy, first season (second stint with Chiefs after previously serving as OC from 2018-22)
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Spagnuolo, eighth season
Best Offseason Move(s): Signing RB Kenneth Walker III and drafting RB Emmett Johnson
Perhaps the Chiefs’ decline to some degree could have been expected given the diminishing supporting cast around Mahomes.
Future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce had entered his post-prime phase and simply wasn’t the same unstoppable force he had been for so long. The Chiefs had assembled an unreliable and underwhelming wide receiver corps with WR1 Rashee Rice struggling to stay on the field due to health and legal issues and Xavier Worthy failing to live up to expectations as a 2024 first-round pick. And the running game had turned to sludge with Isiah Pacheco never fully returning to form after a broken leg early in the 2024 season, while Kareem Hunt had simply lost his zip.
Well, the Chiefs can’t turn back the clock for Kelce and they remain heavily invested in those receivers, but they did prioritize fixing one of their glaring issues at least.
Kansas City paid top dollar in free agency (three years, $43.05 million) to lure Kenneth Walker III away from the Seattle Seahawks, where he had just won Super Bowl MVP.
Walker immediately transforms the Chiefs’ backfield. He isn’t a top 5 NFL running back, but he’s a big enough upgrade to matter here.
Walker rushed for 1,027 yards and 5 TDs on 4.6 yards per carry last season with 31 catches for 282 yards. In the Seahawks’ three postseason games, he took it to another level with 313 rushing yards and 4 TDs plus 104 receiving yards. That included 27 carries for 135 yards and 26 receiving yards in the Super Bowl.
Walker operated best in Seattle while sharing the workload with Zach Charbonnet, and the Chiefs have given him an intriguing backfield mate this season in fifth-round pick Emmett Johnson, who had 1,451 rushing yards (5.8 YPC), 370 receiving yards and 15 total TDs for Nebraska last fall.
Johnson was an absolute steal that late in the draft.
Worst Offseason Move: Staying status quo at WR
This has always been one of the more confounding things NFL teams do — having an elite quarterback and not investing in giving him top-tier receivers.
The Patriots did this to Tom Brady for much of his career outside of the brief run with Randy Moss and a steady stream of excellent slot weapons.
Mahomes hasn’t had a top 10 wideout since Tyreek Hill was traded after the 2021 season.
Sure, he’s made it work — especially when Kelce was at the peak of his powers and unquestionably the top tight end in football. But since throwing for a career-high 5,250 yards in 2022, Mahomes’ passing totals has dipped to 4,183 (in 16 games in 2023), 3,928 (in 16 games in 2024) and 3,587 (in 14 games last season).
Rice, now in his fourth season, has looked the part of a legit WR1 at times — when he’s not suspended by the NFL or sidelined by injury — but he’s played just 12 games over the last two seasons as a result of those matters.
His 53 receptions for 571 yards and 5 TDs in eight games last year had him on a career-best pace at least.
Worthy, meanwhile, has posted middling receiving lines of 59-638-6 and 42-532-1 (in 14 games last year).
The Chiefs’ leader in receiving yards last season was actually Hollywood Brown, who is now with the Eagles.
So Kansas City is running it back with Rice, Worthy and Tyquan Thornton (19-438-3) while hoping rookie Cyrus Allen (out of Cincinnati) proves to be a fifth-round gem.
It would have been nice to see the Chiefs sign one of the modestly priced veteran free agents like Keenan Allen or Deebo Samuel, or land one of the available trade targets (Michael Pittman Jr., D.J. Moore, Dontayvion Wicks, Kayshon Boutte).
Kansas City Chiefs Roster Breakdown
Biggest Strength: QB Patrick Mahomes
After years atop the NFL QB Power Rankings, Mahomes may indeed have ceded that spot to Josh Allen, but any thought that he’s no longer an elite, top 5 quarterback is premature until proven otherwise.
The two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP turns 31 years old this week and is coming back from a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee after just nine months, so he may not scramble for as many yards as he used to. He may not post the gaudy stat lines he once did (when he had better talent around him), and his 22 TDs with 11 INTs last season was the worst ratio of his career.
And yet, most every other team around the NFL with few exceptions would still eagerly swap their QB for him in a blink.
Biggest Weakness(es): Offensive tackle and edge rusher
If there are reasons for concern about the Chiefs’ potential to return to past form, start on the edges.
Left tackle Josh Simmons, the team’s 2025 first-round pick, graded out middle of the pack by PFF last season (62.7, ranked 59th out of 89 OTs graded) and has been ruled out for the season opener due to a lower back injury that has persisted for weeks. That means undrafted rookie Khalil Benson, who played at Indiana and was one of the most surprising stories of the NFL preseason, is starting at left tackle in his NFL debut.
Meanwhile, Kansas City released former starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor in March and are turning to Jaylon Moore, who has 18 starts in five NFL seasons between the 49ers and Chiefs.
At full strength, PFF ranked the Chiefs as the eighth-best offensive line entering the season, but there having fair questions at both tackle spots is not ideal.
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On the defensive side, seven-time Pro Bowl and three-time first-team All-Pro Chris Jones is a wrecking ball on the interior of the defensive line, but the edge rusher group is lacking.
George Karlaftis, who had 6 sacks last season and has 30.5 over four seasons, leads the unit while 2025 third-round pick Ashton Gillotte (1.5 sacks as a rookie), third-year pro Feliz Anudike-Uzomah (3 career sacks in 34 games) and rookie second-round pick R Mason Thomas (out of Oklahoma) round out the top of the depth chart.
Most Intriguing Rookie: CB Mansoor Delane
The Chiefs had to make tough salary cap decisions and traded away top cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams in exchange for the 29th pick in the draft and three other draft picks, while letting their other starting CB Jaylen Watson leave as a free agent (also to the Rams).
To replace that void, Kansas City traded up three picks in the draft to take Mansoor Delane, the consensus top cornerback prospect in the draft out of LSU, with the No. 6 overall pick.
The All-American was regarded as a shutdown coverage corner in college with 8 INTs and 27 passes defended over three seasons at Virginia Tech and one at LSU.
Delane had a very impressive preseason for Kansas City and will start opposite L’Jarius Sneed, who played his first four seasons as a starter for the Chiefs before spending the last two with the Titans.
The Chiefs’ other first-round pick, defensive tackle Peter Woods (the 29th overall selection, out of Clemson) deserves mention here as well as he should absolutely factor significantly into the rotation on the interior of the defensive line.
Breakout Player: CB Mansoor Delane and WR Xavier Worthy
Delane is the answer here, but since we already talked about him …
While Worthy hasn’t been especially impressive through two seasons, he will have his best chance yet to assert himself in this offense.
It needs to be said that Worthy was never healthy last season after dislocating his shoulder and tearing his labrum in a collision with Kelce in Week 1. He waited until after the season to have surgery, missing only three games overall.
Now fully healthy, and with Brown in Philadelphia, Worthy should see a higher volume of targets as the Chiefs’ clear WR2. What he does with it is up to him.
MVP Pick: QB Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes is playing with peak motivation after the disappointing 2025 season and the thought of being doubted a bit for the first time in his career.
Expect a statement season from the future Hall of Famer.
2026 Kansas City Chiefs Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) |
| Week 1, Sept. 14 (Monday) | vs. Denver Broncos | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 2, Sept. 20 | vs. Indianapolis Colts | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 3, Sept. 27 | at Miami Dolphins | 1 p.m. |
| Week 4, Oct. 4 | at Las Vegas Raiders | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 5 | BYE WEEK | |
| Week 6, Oct. 18 | vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 7, Oct. 25 | at Seattle Seahawks | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 8, Nov. 1 | at Denver Broncos | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 9, Nov. 8 | vs. New York Jets | 1 p.m. |
| Week 10, Nov. 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | 1 p.m. |
| Week 11, Nov. 22 | vs. Arizona Cardinals | 1 p.m. |
| Week 12, Nov. 26 (Thursday) | at Buffalo Bills | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 13, Dec. 3 (Thursday) | at Los Angeles Rams | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 14, Dec. 13 | at Cincinnati Bengals | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 15, Dec. 21 (Monday) | vs. New England Patriots | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 16, Dec. 27 | vs. San Francisco 49ers | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 17, TBD (Flex Game) | at Los Angeles Chargers | TBD |
| Week 18, TBD (Flex Game) | vs. Las Vegas Raiders | TBD |
Kansas City Chiefs Season Prediction And Parting Thoughts
Season Prediction: 12-5
It’s just bad business to doubt Mahomes and Reid.
The Chiefs will get the train back on the tracks, even with Mahomes perhaps playing more cautious in his accelerated return from knee surgery, the questions at offensive tackle and a lot of changes on defense.
In addition to the cornerbacks, the Chiefs also lost safety Bryan Cook and linebacker Leo Chenal in free agency. They remain solid in the middle of the defense, though, with Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill back at linebacker, while they gave free agent safety Alohi Gilman a three-year, $24-million contract to join returning starter Chamarri Conner (117 tackles, 1 INT).
Denver is a tough first test, but the next three games leading into the bye week are favorable and give the Chiefs a great chance to get off to a strong start to a bounceback season.
