The Kansas City Chiefs fell a long way this season, and in many ways it’s hard to believe that their tumble happened at all. Reminders are still surfacing, though, and one of the sharpest ones has the Chiefs rated at 25th in the final power rankings from The Athletic that were released this week.
They were written by Josh Kendall and Chad Graff, and they came with a clever tag line. The writers fell a bit short with the Chiefs, though, as the tag line was “It’s all about [quarterback] Patrick Mahomes.”
It’s an easy way to summarize the ranking, although it’s a long way from completely accurate. The rankings are closely aligned with each team’s record, so it’s not all that shocking given that the Chiefs wound up where they did given that they finished at 6-11.
Putting aside Mahomes’ current health and rehab status for the moment, there are two theories about how this happened. If you go by coach Andy Reid and other members of the coaching staff, the Chiefs were just a few big plays from turning it around, so a big overhaul isn’t completely necessary assuming Mahomes comes back and is able to play at a high level right away.
Then there’s what we’ll call the “Bill Parcells” theory, which is that you are what your record says you are. If you believe that one, then that complete overhaul becomes not only justified, but necessary.
Neither theory works completely, but the Chiefs will need to pick a lane here. This won’t be possible until they see what the post-knee surgery version of Mahomes looks like on the field, but a couple of urgent needs have surfaced, depending on how deep you want to go in your count.
The offensive line and the running back room are the two obvious ones, and they’re inextricably tied together. The Chiefs thought they had the former issue solved when they drafted tackle Josh Simmons, but that solutions turned out to be shaky at best when Jawaan Taylor underperformed and injuries hit. This unit may not need an overhaul, but they do need some help, and the process will start when Taylor becomes a cap casualty.
The running back room is a very different problem. It’s safe to assume that running back Isiah Pacheco is either gone or in free fall on the depth chart—probably the former. The fan base wants to see Reid and GM Brett Veach sign a splashy free agent or draft a back in the top ten, but at this point it’s anyone’s guess if either of those things happen.
Getting Mahomes back healthy would vault the Chiefs back into the top of these rankings, but it’ll take more than that to get Kansas City back to its accustomed place at or near the top of these rankings.