KC Chiefs: Three reasons Chiefs can win AFC West after 2019 draft

The Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC West the last three seasons and are looking to make it four in a row. The division has been getting better, but even when the going gets tough, the Chiefs find a way to win.

That being said, the Kansas City Chiefs are bound to come down from this high eventually. Will it happen this year? Nope, and here are three reasons why. Spoiler alert: The draft has a lot to do with it.

Fixed Secondary

Outside of finding another starting corner, the Chiefs have done a spectacular job at fixing the back end of the defense. Tyrann Mathieu adds some much-needed fire to the secondary and second round pick Juan Thornhill should have an immediate impact on the defense.

Added development to returning defensive backs Armani Watts and Tremon Smith should bolster what was one of the Chiefs weakest position groups. Let’s not forget about the Chiefs sixth round pick, Rashad Fenton who could vie for a back-up spot.

Building on Offense

 With Tyreek Hill‘s status as a Chief clearly up in the air, Brett Veach chose to take speedster Mecole Hardman with the Chief’s first pick of the draft. While Hardman is nowhere near the all-around athlete Hill is, he should fill a similar role on offense and special teams as the team’s punt returner.

Even though he isn’t as athletic as Hill, he is a much more polished wide receiver than Hill was coming out which should shorten the learning curve. The Chiefs also took Darwin Thompson in the sixth round of the 2019 Draft, who could see play in a Darren Sproles type role on offense or maybe even be the Chiefs version of Tarik Cohen.

Could these amount to nothing?  Maybe, but last I checked…

Andy Reid is still the Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs

This should go without saying, but Big Red is still one of the greatest offensive minds in the NFL.  If there is a coach that can find a way to scheme around these new players, Reid is it.

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It also helps that Reid has won around 90% of the AFC West divisional games. When teams are even, odds are good it will come down to good coaching. Outside of Denver in the Peyton Manning era, it has been a while since a team has been this dominant for this long inside the division.

The AFC West is going to be competitive this year, assuming the Raiders and Broncos get anything going. The Chargers are the Chiefs primary competition and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

The defense can only improve and Patrick Mahomes has another year in the system, which can only help in the long-term. This season won’t go as smoothly as Chiefs fans want it to be, but that is okay.

In the end, though, the Kansas City Chiefs will claim their fourth straight division title.