Our friends Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield at Touchdown Wire recently ranked all of the NFL’s offenses and defenses from worst to first, looking at the outlook for the 2020 NFL season.
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of a Super Bowl victory, reaching the tallest peak in professional football. Did Brett Veach and Andy Reid make the offseason moves to keep the team in contention when next season begins? Let’s take a look at what Farrar and Schofield had to say about our Super Bowl champions.
Offense
Kansas City has boasted one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL over the course of the past two seasons. So long as Patrick Mahomes is on the field and Andy Reid is drawing up plays, this offense will have an opportunity to be one of the best in the NFL. For that reason, the Chiefs are ranked as the No. 1 offense in the NFL by Touchdown Wire.
Here is a look at what Schofield had to say about the Chiefs’ offense:
They have Patrick Mahomes, likely the game’s most talented passer. They have Andy Reid, one of the game’s best offensive minds. They have Eric Bienemy, another of the game’s best offensive minds and someone who needs to be a head coach for the start of the 2021 NFL season. They have a group of talented skill position players including Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman. They have a Lombardi Trophy to unveil on the season’s opening night.
To that group they added Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who Reid considers someone who might be better than what he had in Brian Westbrook.
Until they falter, this is the game’s best offense.
Schofield’s description doesn’t even mention RB Damien Williams, who had a legitimate case to become Super Bowl MVP with over 130 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The Chiefs also added Ricky Seals-Jones in free agency, who caught four touchdowns in 2019. It just shows you exactly how deep this group of offensive playmakers is.
Hit the jump to find out where Farrar ranked the Chiefs’ defense.
Defense
After falling to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game during the 2018-2019 playoffs, the Chiefs made the swift decision to change their defense. They fired Bob Sutton and hired Steve Spagnuolo, they changed schemes and they brought in entirely new personnel. Those choices helped the Chiefs reach and win the Super Bowl, but there is still room for improvement for this unit.
Doug Farrar ranked this group at No. 13 heading into the 2020 NFL season. Here is a look at what he had to say about the Chiefs’ defense:
Yes, the Chiefs are led by Patrick Mahomes and the NFL’s most explosive offense, but Andy Reid’s team wouldn’t have won Super Bowl LIV without the efforts of two new additions — defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who played at a Defensive Player of the Year pace through the entire season. Things could be even better in 2020 and beyond, as there appears to be a total belief in Spagnuolo and Mathieu as the defense’s schematic and emotional leaders, star defensive lineman Chris Jones got franchise-tagged, safety Juan Thornhill should be recovered from the torn ACL that cost him the postseason, and Mississippi State linebacker Willie Gay Jr. adds much-needed athleticism to the position if he can stay out of trouble.
Gay ran a faster 40-yard dash at the combine than the Las Vegas Raiders’ first-round cornerback. He adds a much-needed injection of speed to a unit on the defensive side of the ball that was severely lacking speed the past two seasons. If guys like Mathieu, Jones and Thornhill can improve in year two under Spagnuolo, this defense is definitely looking like one that could surprise some folks.
Be sure to let us know on Facebook and Twitter if you agree or disagree with Touchdown Wire’s assessments of the Chiefs’ offensive and defensive units.
