For the 16th consecutive season, the Kansas City Chiefs travel 55 miles northeast to St. Joseph, MO, to hold yet another training camp. Coaches and players alike will spend the next three weeks away from family, friends, and any other distractions to focus strictly on football in preparation for yet another grueling NFL season.
For them, this trip is all business because while the roster begins with roughly 90 players, by the time the Chiefs depart from Missouri Western State University, that number will shrink significantly to a 53-man game-day roster. Local and national media will have these practices covered and reported on to every last detail, and a lot of it is going to be meaningless blabbering on what Travis Kelce ate for breakfast or what Leo Chenal played on his Xbox the night before.
So, as a dedicated scribe, I decided to give you, the reader, a head start on what to keep a lookout for during the Chiefs' first step toward reaching yet another Lombardi trophy.
Major Storylines
Chiefs Offense Generating Chunk Plays
Through 2018-2022, the Chiefs' offense averaged just over 30 points per game and was operating at a level that made opposing defensive coordinators lose sleep at night. That number has quickly plummeted by over a full touchdown at 22 points per game in the last two seasons. Much of this can be explained by a multitude of factors, but the biggest one of all is that they simply have lost their ability to strike fast, down the field, by utilizing chunk plays.
The Chiefs have been near the bottom in terms of explosive plays (plays that travel 20+ yards), which correlates with Mahomes' intended air yards per attempt dropping to just 5 yards. It’s a far cry from his usual 8-9 yards per attempt, and a tell-tale sign that the Chiefs haven’t felt they had the personnel, nor the blocking up front, to generate plays that flip the field.
Much of last year's training camp was hyping the return of the deep ball with speedsters Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy, but with all the injuries, they never got the chance to see what it would have looked like. Here’s to hoping that we hear that same verbiage from this year's camp and we get to see it come to fruition.
Health of Two Key Offensive Playmakers
With Isiah Pacheco (fractured fibula) and Rashee Rice (torn PCL and LCL) coming off major injuries, how are these guys going to be moving throughout camp? Both seem to be doing very well in their respective recoveries, and while the recent comments from Andy Reid spark more confidence, nobody really knows until the pads come on and your body starts taking hits day in, day out.
As Rice will likely be suspended for the first quarter or so of the season, he’ll have some more time to ramp up his on-field activities. Pacheco, however, is put in a tough position as the expected leader in the backfield. Behind him are often injured Elijah Mitchell, an older and slower Kareem Hunt, and a 7th-round rookie in Brashard Smith. Both Rice and Pacheco will be counted on heavily if Kansas City wants to get back to being a top offense in the league.
Trent McDuffie Embracing New Role
The Chiefs' cornerback room is young and deep, with an all-pro talent in Trent McDuffie leading the charge. 4th-year corner Jaylen Watson is all but guaranteed one of the two starting roles on the outside, with offseason addition Kristian Fulton likely playing opposite Watson. This allows Trent McDuffie to slide into a role that is all too familiar to him and one that he excels in the most.
McDuffie is not only a top cover corner in the NFL against any wide receiver, but he is arguably the most instinctive and best blitzing corner from the slot.
McDuffie playing in the slot gives the Chiefs a whole new look on defense, one that they had in 2023 with McDuffie playing outside and L’Jarius Sneed wreaking havoc from the slot. If we know anything about Steve Spagnuolo, it’s that he loves to be unpredictable when he brings the heat. McDuffie being utilized as a Swiss army knife is going to spell loads of issues for opposing quarterbacks.
Position Battles to Watch
Who Starts at Offensive Tackle?
Unlike last season, the Chiefs did their due diligence and have a surplus of tackles eligible to start at either side of the line. Veteran Jawaan Taylor projects to assume his role at starting right tackle, while free agent acquisition Jaylon Moore and first-round pick Josh Simmons will battle it out for the starting spot protecting Mahomes' blindside. However, with Taylor recently being placed on the PUP list by the team due to a lingering knee injury, Moore and Simmons will also get some run at the right side, both of whom have experience doing so.
If they show up in camp and Taylor isn’t fitting the bill halfway through the season, Andy Reid will not hesitate to pull Taylor out of the lineup (big cap hit or not) to put the best starting five out on the field.
And let’s not mince words here, Jawaan Taylor hasn’t exactly been a Cinderella signing for the Chiefs. Taylor’s contract currently ranks third in the league among right tackles by AAV (average annual value), but he has failed to produce on even a top third of the league level in his time in KC.
The penalties, missed blocks, and mental mistakes have been a real hurdle for him to jump over, and this could very well be the year when the Chiefs have the resources to go another route.
Defensive Line Rotation
Over the last couple of years, this group has felt somewhat thin both inside and outside. The Chiefs have done a good job of adding players through free agency and the draft to fill out the depth, but not exactly added another game-changing talent. Chris Jones will assume his role as starting 3-tech, alongside Mike Pennel as the primary run stuffer, with George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu starting on the edge.
Who has first dibs to fit behind these guys, however, will all be determined by how they perform at training camp.
Veteran Mike Danna was plagued by injuries last season and has played well for the Chiefs when he’s on the field. However, if third-year K-State graduate Felix Anudike-Uzomah takes that next step, he might just push Danna to stand on the sidelines more often. Jerry Tillery was a small splash in free agency for the Chiefs, and he will likely take over the void left by Tershawn Wharton.
The fight for backup 1-tech behind Pennel will be fought amongst a bevy of heavy individuals, but is, in all likelihood, not going to be too interesting. Rookies Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte should see lots of snaps not only in camp, but in the preseason games as well, which will be a good testing point to see if those guys have the potential to be meaningful contributors not just on day one, but for years to come.
The Punter Battle
It may sound silly and rather minuscule compared to other matchups more at the forefront, but the face-off between Chiefs 2024 Punter Matt Araiza and undrafted rookie out of USC Eddie Czaplicki is likely the most important and meaningful roster decision special teams coordinator Dave Toub will have to make this season.
Araiza had an up-and-down season for the Chiefs, particularly when it came to how erratic some of his punts were in terms of placement. He’s got a big leg, there’s no doubt about that, but accuracy matters, as well as accounting for the wind and the field conditions. If he can get his leg under control, I think he’ll have a pretty nice bounce-back campaign and likely win the job.
The 22-year-old Czaplicki was awarded the 2024 Ray Guy Award, which recognizes college football’s top punter. Czaplicki doesn’t have the raw power that Araiza possesses, but his accuracy has rarely been matched by his peers, with countless punts landing inside the 20 in college.
Punter is usually a forgotten position (understandably so, when you look at the larger context of an entire NFL game), but let’s not forget the handful of clutch plays from former Chiefs punters Tommy Townsend and Dustin Colquitt in big games in the past. Whoever wins this job could have a massive impact on the Chiefs' 13th or 14th win of the season, which would vault them to being the one seed. It’s a game of inches after all.