The 2025 season marked an abrupt and uncomfortable shift for Kansas City. A franchise that had defined the AFC for the better part of a decade stumbled to a 6–11 finish, missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade. For a team accustomed to MVP races, conference title games, and Super Bowl appearances, 2025 felt less like a down year and more like a reckoning.
As the Chiefs pivot toward 2026, the conversation is no longer about extending a dynasty, but about reshaping one.
Offense: Mahomes Remains the Axis
Everything still begins under center. Even after a lost season, there is no debate about Mahomes’ standing as the best quarterback in football or about his trajectory toward becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Kansas City’s priority is no longer proving Mahomes can elevate flawed rosters—he has already done that—but ensuring the roster around him reduces the burden that 2025 placed squarely on his shoulders.
On the outside, the Chiefs are clearly in transition. Xavier Worthy is entering his third season and has shown that he is far more than a vertical speed threat, as his ability to run the full route tree gives Kansas City a legitimate long-term piece, though consistency remains the next step.
Rashee Rice’s situation remains complicated. The talent is evident, but off-field concerns cloud his long-term future and make him difficult to project in any capacity. Hollywood Brown, while stylistically aligned with the offense, has become an expendable piece after a year defined by lapses and inconsistency.
One of the more perplexing elements of the 2025 season was the lack of involvement for Jalen Royals. Drafted in the fourth round out of Utah State in 2025, Royals earned just 86 total snaps in his rookie campaign, 43 of which came in Week 18. Heading into 2026, Royals profiles as a player who deserves significantly more snaps and could carve out a meaningful role if given the opportunity. He’s powerful, nuanced, experienced as a target hog in an offense, and flat-out deserves more of an opportunity.
Up front, there are clearer answers. Josh Simmons already looks like a long-term blindside protector with All-Pro upside. Creed Humphrey remains one of the best centers in football, and Trey Smith continues to anchor the right guard spot as one of the league’s most physically dominant interior linemen.
Jawaan Taylor, however, has become an expendable piece at right tackle, and the Chiefs could very well look to upgrade that position in the draft. Esa Pole, an undrafted free agent out of Washington State, also deserves recognition for carving out a role late in the season and providing depth after grinding through training camp and the summer. He’ll be a name to watch in camp this summer.
At tight end, Travis Kelce’s absence as a dominant force has exposed a void. Jared Wiley, drafted out of TCU two years ago, has yet to take a meaningful step forward, while undrafted free agent Jake Briningstool remains a developmental piece.
Like the flex spot, the running back room could also be poised for a reset. Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are both potentially on their way out, and Kansas City lacks a true RB1. Brashard Smith, a seventh-round pick in 2025, has flashed as an alignment-versatile weapon and should be part of the future, but he isn’t your atypical bell cow. Adding a true lead runner—potentially Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love with a top-10 pick—would fundamentally change the structure of the offense and take pressure off Mahomes.
Defense: Foundations Still Intact
Defensively, the Chiefs remain anchored by elite talent. Chris Jones continues to be the centerpiece up front, while George Karlaftis has solidified himself as a core edge defender. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, however, has not met expectations. The former first-round pick has slid down the depth chart and now enters the biggest offseason of his young career, where improvements in his play and body profile—he needs to get stronger—will shape his roster status moving forward.
Omarr Norman-Lott, a 2025 second-round pick out of Tennessee, projects as a rotational contributor, while Ashton Gillotte emerged as a powerful and disruptive edge presence as a third-round pick out of Louisville (24 pressures and three sacks this fall). Linebacker Jeffrey Bassa provides depth, while Leo Chenal remains one of the league’s more underrated SAM backers entering his fifth season.
The secondary, however, is a mixed bag. Trent McDuffie endured an uneven season transitioning outside, while Jaylen Watson appears upgradeable. Nohl Williams, a third-rounder out of Cal, was a massive bright spot and should earn every opportunity to start opposite McDuffie next fall. Behind them at safety, Bryan Cook and Chamarri Conner provide youth, but the Chiefs could benefit from an infusion of higher-end talent. Jaden Hicks, a 2024 fourth-rounder, is another player poised for an expanded role.
The path forward for the Chiefs
Kansas City’s 2026 outlook is defined by urgency rather than panic. The core—Mahomes, Chris Jones, Karlaftis, Humphrey, Smith—remains strong enough to re-enter contention quickly. But the lesson of 2025 is clear: the Chiefs can no longer rely on Mahomes alone to mask deficiencies. Adding a true RB1 and more reliable offensive weapons is no longer optional; it is essential to restoring Kansas City as an AFC power. No. 15 is special under center, but a look back at even last year’s Super Bowl exemplifies why additional talent is necessary.
