The Kansas City Chiefs went into Super Bowl LIX last weekend dreaming of a “three-peat”. They left it with questions over whether they will be able to get back to the NFL’s showpiece game any time soon.
The shellacking they were dealt by the Philadelphia Eagles in a 40-22 loss in New Orleans was so emphatic that it exposed several holes within the Chiefs’ roster.
Kansas City had eked out close win after close win to finish the 2024 regular season with an AFC-best 15-2 record. But the dominance the Eagles exerted over them at the Super Bowl retrospectively colours those wins differently.
Maybe what we thought were the kind of gritty victories upon which championships are founded were in fact dice rolls that could easily have left the Chiefs narrow losers and middle-of-the-pack playoff contenders.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked a career-high six times by Philadelphia’s rampant defensive front, further emphasising the Chiefs’ long-apparent need for improvement at offensive tackle.
They also failed to establish their run game, picking up just 49 total rushing yards, 25 of which were generated by Mahomes. And only one wide receiver – rookie Xavier Worthy, whose two late touchdowns when the game was effectively over bumped his total up to 157 yards – managed more than 40 receiving yards.
So for a team who were so one game away from immortality in the form of an unprecedented third successive Super Bowl triumph, the Chiefs front office now has plenty of work to do this offseason.
One of the biggest lingering questions is over star tight end Travis Kelce’s future. The six-time All-Pro pass-catcher has been one of the main drivers of Kansas City’s recent success.
But the 35-year-old is coming off the worst statistical season of his career, after what was already a sub-par season in 2023.
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“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year. And right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road,” Kelce has said.
“I’m kicking every can I can down the road and I’m not making any crazy decisions.
“Right now, the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding that there’s a lot that goes into this thing.”
Losing a player of Kelce’s calibre and proven playoff pedigree would be a difficult pill to swallow. But it might also be for the best.
The Chiefs are projected to have around $11.5 million in cap space this offseason, the ninth-lowest in the league. They’d be able to add another $17 million to that figure if Kelce were to retire.
If Kelce can recapture his best form, then he’d be a huge asset in the Chiefs’ plans to get back to the Super Bowl as quickly as possible. But with his athletic qualities clearly in decline, the 1,000-yard seasons of years past are unlikely to return.
It’s reasonable to expect that current No.2 tight end Noah Gray could make up for a chunk of the 823 yards Kelce generated last season, while his 133 targets could be redistributed around the receiving crops.
Kelce’s retirement would allow them to re-sign Trey Smith. With their problems at left tackle, they can ill-afford to lose one of the league’s better right guards whose deal is expiring.
Kelce’s salary coming off the books could also allow the Chiefs to re-sign one of DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who are entering free agency, or else target another wide receiver in the free-agency market to provide an additional weapon for Mahomes.
They have key free agents on the defensive side of the ball, too, headlined by linebacker Nick Bolton and safety Justin Reid.
It will be difficult for Kansas City to retain both players, but they have the option of restructuring the contract of star defensive tackle Chris Jones or penalty-prone right tackle Jawaan Taylor, which could add as much as $20 million in cap room.
And even with the roster weaknesses exposed in their Super Bowl thumping by the Eagles, the outlook isn’t overwhelmingly gloomy for Kansas City.
Fortunately for the dethroned champions, the upcoming NFL draft is set to be replete with quality prospects in their positions of need.
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Even though they will pick 31st in each round, they could conceivably find offensive line help with their first selection, an heir to Kelce at tight end with their second and a viable starting running back with their third or fourth.
Ohio State tackle/guard prospect Donovan Jackson is projected to be available late in the first round. He’d help bolster their options for protecting Mahomes’ blind side.
Elijah Arroyo, an impressive pass-catching tight-end, is likely to fall to the second round due to the standout prospects rated ahead of him in the 2025 class. The Chiefs might have to trade up a few spots to be in with a chance of getting him, but he could be the long-term heir to Kelce in Andy Reid’s offense.
And in the third or fourth round they could target the likes of Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson, Dylan Sampson of Tennessee or Notre Dame’s versatile and unconventional Cam Skatterbo at running back.
What’s more, their receiving corps will be boosted by the return of Rashee Rice, who looked outstanding at the start of last season in his second year in the league before a collision with Mahomes in Week 4 resulted in a torn ACL and an end to his sophomore campaign.
The development throughout the year of Worthy, their 2024 first-rounder, was a huge late-season positive, too.
Plus, they still have the best quarterback in the world who for the first time in a while will feel he has something to prove going into the 2025 NFL season.
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