On Tuesday, ESPN senior NFL writer Bill Barnwell released his annual column ranking the NFL’s best (and worst) playmaker groups, judging which front offices have given their quarterback a good supporting cast of weapons.
First, let’s review where the Kansas City Chiefs landed the last five offseasons:
Ahead of the 2025 season, Barnwell lists the Chiefs No. 12 — their highest ranking in four years.
While there were occasional glimmers of the old Travis Kelce, it’s fair to say Father Time might have finally gotten to the best tight end in NFL history. Outside of his one-game debut season in 2013, he set career lows in receiving yards (823), touchdowns (three), yards per reception (8.5, never previously below 10), yards per target (6.1, never once before below 8.0), yards per route run (1.6) and average yards after catch (3.5). He finished last in ESPN’s receiver score among all NFL players, although that owes in part to a Catch Score (zero) that’s way out of line with his historical rates. I’d argue that Kelce is still an above-average tight end with this skill set given how difficult it is to find real upside at the position, but I’m expecting something a lot closer to the 2024 version than the dominant 2022 edition.
The running back situation is also muddled after Isiah Pacheco‘s frustrating season, owing to a fractured fibula. It’s a little easier to project a 26-year-old runner to bounce back to form than a 35-year-old tight end, but then again, Kelce ‘s baseline was a lot more spectacular than Pacheco’s. Kareem Hunt was excellent in short-yardage and underwhelming at just about everything else when forced into the lead role as Pacheco’s replacement.
Instead, I’m cautiously optimistic about the Chiefs’ wide receivers, who have been disappointing for years. Rashee Rice was excellent down the stretch in 2023 and early in 2024 before tearing his ACL in Week 4, and with the injury occurring so early in the season, he should be closer to full health. And while it took Xavier Worthy time to rack up numbers, it wasn’t because he couldn’t get open. He averaged 2.0 yards per route run between Week 10 and Super Bowl LIX, where he finished the season with eight catches for 157 yards and two scores. If the Chiefs can somehow get full seasons out of Rice, Worthy and oft-injured third wideout Hollywood Brown, we could see something more like the younger, more explosive version of Patrick Mahomes. Of course, counting on getting 51 games out of those three players seems extremely optimistic, which is why Kansas City isn’t ranked higher.
My takeaway
Barnwell delivered Kansas City its best ranking since trading wide receiver Tyreek Hill during the 2022 offseason. The logic tracks.
As tight end Travis Kelce is entering his age-35 season, there is some skepticism about his ability to hit 1,000 receiving yards once again. A key point missing in Barnwell’s offering might be the coverage attention three healthy above-average receivers might take away from Kelce — which could reasonably lead him to a return to that type of production.
We have talked about it often on these pages: in 2024, the Chiefs planned to tilt their primary focus from Kelce to wide receiver Rashee Rice, but the early-season injury thwarted that objective. There is no guarantee of health for any NFL player, but should Rice be able to stay on the field, everyone else’s numbers — including Kelce’s — should be better.
The Chiefs hoped to select a running back on Day 1 or 2 of the NFL Draft, but the board played out in a way that they had to wait until Round 7. That means Kansas City will be banking on Isiah Pacheco’s return to health; the running back added weight this offseason to improve his durability for his contract year. Barnwell notes Kareem Hunt is back but does not mention Elijah Mitchell, who could surprise fans as a Jerick McKinnon-like wild card.
On paper, I believe the Chiefs have top-10 firepower, but I don’t blame Barnwell for stopping at 12 because that will depend on good health, something Kansas City lacked in 2024.
Barnwell ranked the rest of the AFC West as follows: Las Vegas Raiders, 20. Los Angeles Chargers, 22. Denver Broncos, 23. Read his evaluations of those offenses and the entire league here.
