Kansas City Chiefs fans are undeniably self-aware when it comes to pointing to potential weaknesses or issues for the franchise. With this in mind, one of the biggest concerns that fans have noticed heading toward the 2026 season is the lack of established production from the front seven in Steve Spagnuolo's defense. Still, this didn't stop Sharp Football Analysis from ranking the Chiefs as the 12th-best front seven in the league.
The reasons cited make this ranking even odder, with the pass rush from a season ago being pointed to as to why Kansas City holds down the 12th spot. "Kansas City’s pass-rush unit was the strength of its defense last year, and it was especially dominant when able to anticipate a pass play. On plays with a dropback probability of 80% or higher, the Chiefs led the league with a 47.2% pressure rate," the report read.
There is no denying that analytics are a tool, but the raw numbers are often more telling, and that is the case here. Kansas City was limited to 35 combined sacks in the 2025 season, with zero pass rushers finishing in double digits. It also ignores the fact that the Chiefs were regularly among the highest blitz percentage teams in the league, which, sure, creates more pressures on the quarterback but leaves the secondary without the needed support, allowing for countless third-down conversions from opposing offenses.
The Chiefs were awarded the 12th-best front seven in the NFL heading into the 2026 season by Sharp Football Analysis
Chris Jones led all Chiefs d-linemen with 7.0 sacks, and much of this production was piled up at the end of the season when the games no longer mattered. Arguing that this part of Kansas City's game is their strength in the front seven heading into the 2026 season is simply not an aware take and ignores the real concern Kansas City has around the unit.
The Chiefs have added to the front seven, notably bringing in Khyiris Tonga, Peter Woods, and R Mason Thomas as hopeful answers to last season's woes. However, we have yet to see this work, leaving little question that ranking Kansas City so highly isn't accurate.
It is going to take bounce-back years from Jones and George Karlaftis, as well as new pieces stepping in to fill gaps and give Kansas City a more cohesive unit. Perhaps if it had been Nick Bolton and the ability of the linebacking unit to cover up mistakes, it would've been a bit more understandable to have the unit this highly ranked.
Doing so while pointing to the pass rush as the main reason ignores the shortcomings of the 2025 season. This isn't to doubt that meaningful improvement can happen, but to point to the fact that there isn't currently a reason to have the team this high based on past team accomplishments.
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