{"id":32913,"date":"2025-02-12T08:03:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T08:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=32913"},"modified":"2025-02-12T08:03:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T08:03:53","slug":"kansas-city-chiefs-2025-nfl-offseason-preview-patrick-mahomes-needs-help-up-front-and-at-wr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=32913","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Chiefs 2025 NFL offseason preview: Patrick Mahomes needs help up front and at WR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 2024 season<\/strong>: 15-2, 1st in AFC West, lost in Super Bowl to Eagles<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overview:\u00a0<\/strong>Well, the Chiefs\u2019 run is over.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were blown out in the Super Bowl by the Philadelphia Eagles, which ended their hopes of a historic three-peat. While Chiefs fans almost certainly aren\u2019t in a good place entering this offseason, Kansas City is still in the midst of one of the most dominant runs in NFL history. With a few solid moves this offseason, there\u2019s no reason why the Chiefs can\u2019t at least be in contention atop the AFC again next fall.<\/p>\n<p>There are several questions the team needs to answer, starting with Travis Kelce\u2019s future. The tight end is nearing the end of his career and facing retirement rumors, which would leave an even bigger hole in the Chiefs\u2019 receiving group. The Chiefs need help protecting Mahomes, too, as evidenced by a horrific showing in the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p>But with Mahomes leading the way, it\u2019s hard to count the Chiefs out no matter who they put around him. At least, it\u2019s been impossible to do that so far in his career. We\u2019ll see how long that lasts.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"key-free-agents\" class=\"caas-jump-link-heading\"><strong>Key free agents<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>OL Trey Smith<br \/>\nLB Nick Bolton<br \/>\nWR Marquise Brown<br \/>\nWR DeAndre Hopkins<br \/>\nWR JuJu Smith-Schuster<br \/>\nWR Justin Watson<br \/>\nWR Mecole Hardman<br \/>\nRB Kareem Hunt<br \/>\nS Justin Reed<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who\u2019s in\/out:<\/strong>\u00a0Smith is in line for a massive deal this offseason, so he\u2019s likely going to be out the door after being a staple on the Chiefs\u2019 offensive line during their Super Bowl runs in recent years. If he plays it right, he could be the highest-paid guard in the league \u2014 and the Chiefs don\u2019t really have the money to match that. Bolton and Reed have both said they want to return next season, which would help keep their defense together.<\/p>\n<p>A good chunk of the Chiefs\u2019 wide receiver room will hit free agency, too. While some departures would hurt more than others \u2014 Hopkins is probably too expensive to bring back \u2014 rebuilding and providing Mahomes with reliable targets has to be a priority for the Chiefs this summer.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-lightbox\" data-lightbox-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/qQ69Uns8KURU0eXbcuI3ng--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI0MDA7aD0xMzUwO2NmPXdlYnA-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-02\/a6011670-e8f7-11ef-bcfe-2fb642d6a20b\"><span class=\"caas-img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview caas-loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/k8CnWH.JUSBqUNLPTrzrjw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-02\/a6011670-e8f7-11ef-bcfe-2fb642d6a20b\" alt=\"(Grant Thomas\/Yahoo Sports)\" data-caas-lazy-loading-init=\"1\" \/><button class=\"link caas-lightbox\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;elm:expand;itc:1\" data-rapid_p=\"15\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"caption-wrapper caption-aligned-with-image\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrapper caption-aligned-with-image\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\" data-id=\"m-0\">(Grant Thomas\/Yahoo Sports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"key-free-agent-needs\" class=\"caas-jump-link-heading\">Key free-agent needs<\/h2>\n<p>Offensive line<br \/>\nWide receiver<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why the holes?\u00a0<\/strong>Let\u2019s start with the offensive line, which looked horrendous in the Super Bowl. The Eagles were all over Patrick Mahomes throughout the contest, yet Philadelphia didn\u2019t blitz him once on his 42 dropbacks. After using the draft to help here, the Chiefs should find a way to either get Smith to stay \u2014 which isn&#8217;t likely \u2014 or bring in help via free agency.<\/p>\n<p>Again, the Chiefs need options for Mahomes. He hasn&#8217;t had a true No. 1 wide receiver since Tyreek Hill left after the 2021 season. Bringing in a veteran WR whom the Chiefs can count on week in and week out \u2014 especially if Kelce walks away \u2014 would do wonders for the organization. Having to bounce between wide receivers the past several seasons, albeit for various reasons, isn\u2019t going to keep working. They need a long-term play to help one of the best quarterbacks in the league.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"do-they-have-the-money\" class=\"caas-jump-link-heading\">Do they have the money?<\/h2>\n<p>Not really. The Chiefs enter the offseason with nearly\u00a0$16 million\u00a0in cap space. That has them better than just 11 teams in the league.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"notable-potential-cuts\" class=\"caas-jump-link-heading\">Notable potential Cuts<\/h2>\n<p><strong>None<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why not?\u00a0<\/strong>The Chiefs don\u2019t really have anybody on their roster that it makes sense financially to cut. While the team could part with some of their players this offseason, none of the moves would create significant cap space. The biggest thing that will boost their funding will come from restructuring Mahomes\u2019 massive contract \u2014 which should give them a significant amount of cap room to work with.<\/p>\n<p>As for Kelce, it would save the Chiefs more than $17 million in cap space if he retires \u2014 which would double their current amount. If he wants to stay, the Chiefs could ask him to take a pay cut. He\u2019s the highest paid tight end in the league, but his production has been down. At age 35 and near the end of his career, the Chiefs can\u2019t keep paying him like this.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"draft-picks\" class=\"caas-jump-link-heading\"><strong>Draft picks<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>1st round: No. 31<br \/>\n2nd round: No. 63<br \/>\n3rd round (from Titans): No. 66<br \/>\n3rd round: No. 95<br \/>\n4th round<br \/>\n7th round (compensatory)<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"good-draft-pick\" class=\"caas-jump-link-heading\">Good draft fit<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Marcus Mbow, OL, Purdue<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Chiefs need all the help on the offensive line, so they need to use at least one of their premium draft picks here. Taking Mbow, a reliable right tackle and guard who has shined at Purdue despite the Boilermakers\u2019 recent struggles, is an easy choice.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-can-move-the-fantasy-football-needle-this-offseason\" class=\"caas-jump-link-heading\">What can move the fantasy football needle this offseason?<\/h2>\n<p><em>Tracking Isiah Pacheco\u2019s health<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Pacheco didn\u2019t look nearly the same after returning from a fractured fibula, losing the lead-back role to 29-year-old Kareem Hunt. The Chiefs\u2019 feature back offers major fantasy upside, and Hunt will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Kansas City\u2019s backfield roster moves will reveal how confident the team is in Pacheco\u2019s health and ultimately his 2025 outlook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 2024 season: 15-2, 1st in AFC West, lost in Super Bowl to Eagles Overview:\u00a0Well, the Chiefs\u2019 run is over. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kansas City Chiefs 2025 NFL offseason preview: Patrick Mahomes needs help up front and at WR - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=32913\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kansas City Chiefs 2025 NFL offseason preview: Patrick Mahomes needs help up front and at WR - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 2024 season: 15-2, 1st in AFC West, lost in Super Bowl to Eagles Overview:\u00a0Well, the Chiefs\u2019 run is over. 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