The Kansas City Chiefs are headed into the offseason after their worst campaign in 14 years, and they are doing so with some serious disadvantages.
Superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes is recovering from ACL and LCL tears, and his status for the beginning of the season is uncertain. Tight end Travis Kelce might be retiring, which would leave Mahomes without the most frequent and reliable target of his career whenever he does return.
And on top of all that, Kansas City has several positions of need to fill over the offseason (running back, defensive line, secondary, etc.) and is currently staring down the barrel of a $58.3 million salary cap deficit.
That debt is going to require significant cuts to personnel and/or contract restructures, which means some good players walking out the door long before the Chiefs can bring any talent into the fold. One of the no-brainer players on the chopping block is offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor, who will count $27 million-plus against the cap on the final year of his $80 million contract.
“The Chiefs will cut Taylor, which would save them $20 million on the cap even if Taylor is cut before the June 1 mark,” Brian Schatz of ESPN predicted Wednesday, January 7. “He was in the top 10 of pass block win rate for tackles through Week 17 this season, but the Chiefs can’t live with his expensive contract or his predilection for earning penalties.”
Chiefs Can Rebuild Offense Around Patrick Mahomes After Travis Kelce Retirement, Jawaan Taylor Cut
“They can also move on from Jawaan Taylor in the offseason and save $20 million,” Pryor said. “I think this gives them an opportunity to start fresh and really take a serious look at how they can better support Patrick Mahomes rather than just giving him a future Hall of Fame tight end.”
Part of that strategy includes hitting on three high draft picks, the benefits of which Kansas City has essentially never had access to since Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback in 2018. The Chiefs will pick three times in the top 75 of the draft this April: Nos. 9, 40 and 74.
Chiefs Likely to Address Either Running Back, Defensive Line Deficiencies in First Round of NFL Draft
Kansas City is most likely to address either the running back position or its need on the interior of the defensive line with its top-10 pick a few months from now.
One option is dual-threat RB Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame, who was a Heisman Finalist this year and has already declared his eligibility for the draft.
Running backs aren’t typically ultra-high picks any longer, given the devaluation of the position across the league in recent years. That said, there is usually one or two exceptions to that rule each spring, and Love figures to be that exception in 2026.
The question is whether he will fall far enough for the Chiefs to acquire him at No. 9 overall. If he doesn’t, Kansas City is liable to select a high-end defensive tackle and look for running back value later in the draft.
