NFL Power Rankings certainly aren’t the best way to gauge a successful offseason. It’s hardly a good measure to determine success for the upcoming season. NFL teams are hardly complete until after the NFL draft, and even then performance is hard to project until they play a down of regular season football.
Taking a look at the power rankings at this point of the season is a solid way to find out where opinion stands on the moves a team has made in free agency. In the case of the Chiefs, folks don’t tend to think they’ve helped themselves enough so far. Take a look:
CBS Sports – Pete Prisco
No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs
“The Tyreek Hill legal matter could be huge for this team in 2019. They also let go of their two outside rushers as they transition to a new 4-3 scheme. That could be impactful.”
Pete Prisco has the Chiefs ranked the highest of any analyst right now. They’re ranked at No. 3 despite the situation surrounding Tyreek Hill, and the Chiefs moving on from Dee Ford and Justin Houston. That tells me the Chiefs have added enough pieces to counteract some of their loses and potential loses moving forward.
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NFL.com – Elliot Harrison
No. 6 Kansas City Chiefs
“The Chiefs own a championship-caliber offense thanks mostly to their MVP quarterback. The question is, how is Kansas City going to get to the other guys’ quarterback? Alex Okafor aside, with Justin Houston departed and Dee Ford traded, pass rush must be coach Andy Reid’s No. 1 concern. Not to mention the potential patchwork awaiting new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Spags made his name by leading a Giants defense that knocked off the top-seeded Cowboys and the Brett Favre Packers (at Lambeau) in the 2007 playoffs, and then finally the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Great stuff. Well, that ain’t Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck peeling out after the quarterback out there at Arrowhead. Adding Honey Badger helps the back end. Losing center Mitch Morse to the Bills, though … is not helpful.”
Yes the Chiefs downgraded their pass rush significantly, but they seem primed for a trade up in the draft. They also have some big unknowns with Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon. Really it’s too early to say what the Chiefs’ pass rush will look like in 2019. They’ve helped the back end, but the loss of Mitch Morse is substantial. Protecting Mahomes and a getting to the opposing QB both need to be prioritized moving forward.
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Touchdown Wire – Matthew Stevens
No. 9 Kansas City Chiefs
“The Chiefs defense was abysmal last season. By trading Dee Ford and cutting Justin Houston, Kansas City loses 22 of their 52 sacks from last season. But worse might be the loss of production from Kareem Hunt and the potential loss of Tyreek Hill to a suspension.”
The Chiefs may have lost 22 sacks from 2018, but they’ve gained eight back at a much cheaper cost in Alex Okafor, Tyrann Mathieu, and Damien Wilson. The team already replaced Kareem Hunt’s production with Damien Williams in 2018, that’s a non-issue. Having to find a replacement for Tyreek Hill, depending on what comes from that situation, that could be the most significant loss. Still with the NFL’s reigning MVP, I think that No. 9 is far too low for Kansas City.
Perception isn’t everything, but the Chiefs sure still seem to be trending downwards in the power rankings. We’ll see where they end up after they make some more moves in free agency and the 2019 NFL draft.
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