Only a few more days separate us from the long-awaited Chiefs regular season. The beloved hometown team has run away with the AFC West for the last five years while making it to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. The Chiefs look to do the same starting Sept. 12 at 3:25 p.m. when the season kicks off against the Cleveland Browns.
There is no doubt that Chiefs fans still have a bad taste left in their mouth from last season’s Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers. Mahomes had to scramble for his life on almost every play, doing everything he could to find time while getting no help from his offensive line.
Learning from their mistakes, Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach and the front office went all out in building a revitalized offensive line for their superstar quarterback.
The Chiefs found solutions to their offensive line troubles in the offseason through the draft, trades and free agency. They drafted two talented linemen in Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Humphrey has already been named to the PFF preseason all-rookie team.
The Chiefs also landed the young and talented offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a first-round draft pick. Brown is a two-time pro-bowler and has only allowed six sacks in 48 games of his young career. Great news for Chiefs’ fans.
In free agency, the Chiefs landed second-team all-pro guard Joe Thuney, a two-time Super Bowl champion from his time spent with the New England Patriots. Thuney signed a 5-year, $80 million deal with the Chiefs.
With most of last year’s Super Bowl team returning, the Chiefs are an easy early favorite to make it back and win the title with their fresh offensive line.
Mahomes will have more time to sit in the pocket and look to find his star-studded all-pro receivers in Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. The numbers for Mahomes with a lackluster and inconsistent offensive line around him have been great. It is hard to imagine how much better he will be now that he has the protection he needs.
On the defensive side, the secondary will be a question of concern, with Breshaud Breeland gone and newcomers Deandre Baker and Mike Hughes coming in to fill new roles. Both players have dealt with numerous injuries up to this point in their careers. However, if they can stay healthy they showed in preseason that their talent can be very useful.
All in all, the Chiefs remain the favorite for a Super Bowl win this season, which would give them their second in three seasons, cementing their new legacy as a dynasty.
