To say that the 2025 Kansas City Chiefs season was disappointing would be a massive understatement. Andy Reid's team didn't even make the playoffs for the first time with Patrick Mahomes at the helm.
Mahomes suffered the first major injury of his career, and it seemed that every single thing that could've gone wrong went wrong. Unlike in previous years, they couldn't even win a close game to save their lives.
Nevertheless, the Chiefs are still the Chiefs, and they will be a force to be reckoned with for as long as Mahomes is in town. That's why it's not much of a surprise to see CBS Sports ranking them at No. 6 in its annual offensive triplets rankings.
Chiefs get some well-deserved love in CBS Sports' offensive triplets rankings
CBS Sports experts ranked the Chiefs as high as No. 2 and as low as No. 8, with 5.7 as the average. That might seem a bit too low for a core of Mahomes, Kenneth Walker III, and Rashee Rice, but it still shows that the NFL can't afford to sleep on them in 2026:
"Walker's addition gives them a much more explosive back than they have had in the past and increases their upside, while Rice is a terrific player when he is actually on the field, but he's also rehabbing from an injury and once again spent some time in jail this offseason thanks to a probation violation," wrote Jared Dubin. "There's a lot of volatility here for various reasons."
There are some legitimate questions about the Chiefs' pass catchers corps. Rice hasn't shown that he can stay out of trouble, and while he's expected to be back to full strength for Week 1, he's coming off knee surgery that was spent time "healing" in jail.
That said, he's shown flashes of greatness when available, and if Xavier Worthy can finally take a leap, the Chiefs should have an explosive one-two punch, with Travis Kelce also doing his thing down the middle of the field.
As for Kenneth Walker III, he's in a prime position to have the best numbers of his career. He'll have a running back guru in Eric Bieniemy helping him be his best, and the Chiefs might take a run-heavy approach for the first time in a while, taking pressure off Mahomes.
The Chiefs haven't had a 1,000-yard rusher since rookie Kareem Hunt in 2017. That was pre-Mahomes. Bieniemy was also there during that season, and the reigning Super Bowl MVP will most likely get his most carries ever, now that he won't be in a committee.
Last but not least, Patrick Mahomes is still that guy. Major injury or not, down year or not, subpar supporting cast or not, he will find a way and a will to win. That one's pretty self-explanatory, and betting against all-time greats has rarely paid off.
The Chiefs might be down, but they're definitely not out, and it'll be interesting to see if CBS Sports — and everyone else — still think there are five better offensive triplets at the end of the season.
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