• Head Coach: Andy Reid (13th season)
• PFF projected win total: 10.8
• 2024 Record: 15-2 (first in AFC West, lost in Super Bowl)

Biggest Strength: Defense

Kansas City lacked offensive explosiveness last season, but the team’s defense was up to the task. The Chiefs earned the second-highest PFF defensive grade in the NFL, ranking behind only their Super Bowl opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles. They return stars at every level, including Chris Jones, Nick Bolton and Trent McDuffie, while Steve Spagnuolo remains arguably the best defensive play-caller in the league.

Biggest Weakness: Offensive Line

For the second time in five seasons, the Chiefs’ biggest question mark is their offensive line. Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith are two excellent interior players, but Kansas City needs to improve at both tackle spots and left guard. First-round rookie Josh Simmons appears to be taking over at left tackle. This unit ranked 19th in PFF pass-blocking grade and committed the second-most penalties in the NFL last season. They’ll need to improve for the team to reach its fourth straight Super Bowl.

Quarterback Spotlight: Patrick Mahomes

• 2024 PFF Grade: 84.1
• Key Stat: 7.0-yard average depth of target (tied for 41st out of 44 qualified QBs)

Mahomes continued to win with the same conservative approach he’s used ever since the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill before the 2022 season. He posted the third-lowest average depth of target in the NFL last season. That approach, combined with his lack of explosive weapons, earned Mahomes a career-low 3.4% big-time throw rate. He continues to find ways to win close games, particularly with his timely rushing ability, but the Chiefs would certainly like to be more explosive in the passing game this season.

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Offensive Player: C Creed Humphrey

There may not be an NFL player who is more clearly the best at their position than Creed Humphrey. Among centers to play at least 300 snaps in 2024, Humphrey’s 92.4 PFF overall grade bested the next closest player by more than six points. He and Philadelphia’s Jordan Mailata were the only offensive linemen to earn 90.0-plus PFF pass-blocking and run-blocking grades last season. Heading into just his fifth season, Humphrey is already one of the highest-graded centers in PFF history.

Defensive Player: DI Chris Jones

Jones is a future Hall of Famer who continued to dominate as a pass rusher in 2024. He led all interior defenders with 88 pressures last year, including the postseason. His 91.5 PFF pass-rush grade trailed only Philadelphia’s Milton Williams for the league lead. It was the sixth time in the past seven seasons that Jones earned at least a 90.0 PFF pass-rush grade. Still just 31 years old, Jones is one of the game’s most feared pass rushers.

Rookie to Watch: T Josh Simmons

Few offensive tackles will be more heavily scrutinized in 2025 than Josh Simmons. He’ll be charged with protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blind side after Chiefs left tackles ranked dead last in PFF pass-blocking grade last season. Luckily, Simmons earned an outstanding 82.0 PFF pass-blocking grade while allowing just one pressure at Ohio State in 2024. The caveat is that he played fewer than six full games before suffering a season-ending knee injury, so his recovery will be noteworthy as he adjusts to NFL competition.

Fantasy Spotlight: WR Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs

Rice slowly but surely worked his way to the top of the Chiefs’ depth chart as a rookie and was a worthy fantasy starter more often than not after the first month of the 2024 season. He was on pace to be a league-winner before a torn LCL cost him the rest of the campaign. He is also likely to be suspended at some point in 2025.

Rice will face more competition for targets from an improved Xavier Worthy and a healthy Hollywood Brown. He has top-10 upside but could also fall behind in the target pecking order, making it harder to start him.

Best Bet: WR Marquise Brown to go over 525.5 receiving yards (-110)

Brown’s Kansas City debut didn’t occur until Week 16 last season — and it didn’t move the needle like many had expected. With another offseason in the books to recover and build chemistry with Patrick Mahomes, Brown will hit the ground running in 2025. His 12.2-yard average depth of target across his past two full seasons should help him rack up chunk yardage while stretching the field.

Bottom Line

The Chiefs’ core is still intact — Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and a stellar defense. They are the best situational football team in the league, having gone 12-0 in one-score games last season. That may regress, but it’s still hard not to see the Chiefs as prime AFC contenders, considering their success in the Mahomes era.