The Kansas City Chiefs are at serious risk of missing the playoffs after dropping to 5-5 this season.
What an uncharacteristic season for Kansas City thus far. The Chiefs usually dominate one-score games but are now 0-5 after losing 22-19 to the Denver Broncos in Week 11. The Chiefs have a good team, but they haven’t been able to win the games that they have seemingly always won in previous years.
The offense is efficient on fourth-down and they have a magician for a quarterback. Patrick Mahomes has played like a Most Valuable Player, but he hasn’t gotten enough support from his supporting cast.
The running game just isn’t great. Starting running back Isiah Pacheco wasn’t making much of an impact prior to his knee injury that has kept him out for several weeks, backup running back Kareem Hunt is solid, but at this point in his career, he shouldn’t be the lead back of a Super Bowl hopeful team. Rookie Brashard Smith has looked good with limited touches, but he doesn’t have the coaching staff’s trust to give him a greater workload.
The Chiefs should have just traded a third-round pick for New York Jets running back Breece Hall at the trade deadline.
If this was any other season, the Chiefs probably wouldn’t make a huge deal about being 5-5 at this point in the year. However, their aging star tight end is expected to retire after this season, and this is likely his last chance at winning a Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce, 36, is on pace to record another 1,000 yard season and leads the team in receiving with 50 receptions for 631 yards and four touchdowns. While he still looks good, he does appear to be showing some signs of slowing down and his role has been a bit limited.
Kansas City currently holds the 15th overall pick in next year’s draft, and ESPN’s Matt Miller projects that the Chiefs will select Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq to replace Kelce.
“The decline of Kansas City's offense can be blamed on a few things, but the lack of an explosive run game and tight end Travis Kelce's decreased role are two prime factors,” Miller wrote Wednesday. “Unless Love somehow falls to this spot, I don't see the Chiefs going running back in Round 1 -- especially after whiffing on Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round in 2020 -- but they could target Kelce's replacement here. Sadiq's ability to shake coverage and pick up yards after the catch would allow him to thrive in Kelce's role. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior has only 30 catches this season but has scored six touchdowns.”
Sadiq has 30 receptions for 407 yards and six touchdowns through nine games this season. He would make for a great replacement for the future Hall of Famer.