Nate Taylor’s “key observation” from Kansas City Chiefs minicamp should terrify the rest of the NFL.
The Athletic’s team of beat writers compiled takeaways from all 32 minicamps in an article that was released to the public on June 17. And Taylor — The Athletic’s KC correspondent — highlighted the sheer volume of pass-catchers that superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes II has at his disposal in 2024.
“Entering training camp, Patrick Mahomes appears to have a lot more viable passing options than he did a year ago,” the reporter stated. “Just as a reminder, the Chiefs started last year with Kadarius Toney as their No. 1 receiver. This time, Toney will likely be fourth or fifth on the depth chart.”
Other top receiving options from a year ago — like Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore — have either been shipped out of town or totally buried on the depth chart. Instead, the Chiefs have surrounded their former two-time NFL MVP with a much stronger supporting cast on paper as they push for a three-peat.
“Mahomes showed promising chemistry with newcomer Marquise Brown during the OTAs and minicamp, and the addition of rookie Xavier Worthy should allow the Chiefs to have a potent deep-passing attack,” Taylor continued on. Adding that “rookie tight end Jared Wiley, playing behind Travis Kelce, showed strong receiving skills [too].”
The roster also includes running back Isiah Pacheco, tight end Noah Gray, WRs Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, a healthy Nikko Remigio and newcomer Louis Rees-Zammit.
All of this led Taylor to eventually conclude that “even if Rashee Rice is suspended as expected, Mahomes should have plenty of pass catchers he trusts when the Chiefs host the [Baltimore] Ravens to open the season” — a scary thought for any and all NFL challengers.
Chiefs Roster Could Provide Best of Both Worlds in 2024
When the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in the Mahomes-Andy Reid era, they were known as an offensive powerhouse. In fact, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was first brought in to replace Bob Sutton that season — and his unit was often criticized by fans in the early stages of his tenure.
Only later did things sort of flip-flop in Kansas City. The Chiefs were ranked first in points for in 2018 and 24th in points against. After Sutton was relieved of his duties, the defense began to improve upon that NFL ranking, finishing top 10 in points against from 2019 through 2021.
But a slight regression in early 2022 — saved by an MVP season from Mahomes — translated into another Super Bowl run that winter.
The defense was certainly strong down the stretch during those playoffs, but they didn’t become the true strength of the roster until the 2023 campaign — when Mahomes’ offense posted a career worst points for ranking of 15th of 32. If not for Spagnuolo’s second-ranked defense last year, the organization likely never wins back-to-back titles from 2022 through 2023.
And that’s where the “best of both worlds” might come into play in 2024.
This Spagnuolo-led defense has a good mix of experience (Chris Jones, Nick Bolton, Justin Reid) and developing youth (the cornerback room, George Karlaftis, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Bryan Cook and more). It should only get better next year outside of losing L’Jarius Sneed.
Then there’s the offense, which looks poised for a resurgence after an uncharacteristically poor campaign. Assuming Rice is active for some portion of the year, this could be Mahomes’ most well-rounded group of playmakers since entering the league.
2 Chiefs Question Marks Ahead of Training Camp
Despite all of these positive signs, there are a couple of questions to solve in July and August.
The most glaring potential problem is the left tackle position. Will a recent draft pick like Wanya Morris or Kingsley Suamataia step up and win the job? Or will the Chiefs have to enlist in a late-offseason acquisition? Donovan Smith is still available.
On the defensive side, accounting for Sneed’s departure will be priority number one.
Kansas City has several candidates who have shown signs that they can help replace the star CB next fall. But planning a world without Sneed and actually executing it are two different things.
The final notable obstacle is staying motivated — although this Chiefs roster never seems to have a problem staying hungry for more. It’s been a tumultuous offseason in KC off the field and you have to wonder if any returning players have suffered from lapses in concentration.
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