The Kansas City Chiefs are trying to do something no team has ever accomplished before: win three straight Super Bowls.
The rest of the NFL is trying to stop them.
These are the key elements of the Chiefs’ success that will once again play a role in their quest — and could provide clues as to how other teams can dethrone the NFL’s kings.
Other stories in this series: How Previous 3-peat Bids Failed | Steve Spagnuolo’s crucial role | What will the Chiefs do if Travis Kelce hits the wall?
The Kansas City Chiefs’ attempt to win an unprecedented three consecutive Super Bowl titles is one of the stories of the year. Everyone knows they have the quarterback and coaching staff to do it, but now they’re relying on a few new faces to help them get there.
Andy Reid’s playbook is one of the most complex in the NFL, and notoriously difficult for rookies to pick up, especially wide receivers. But general manager Brett Veach has drafted well in recent years, and receiver Rashee Rice played a vital role as a rookie in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship last season.
Here are four offensive rookies to keep an eye on as the Chiefs prepare to defend their throne for a second straight season.
The Chiefs’ 2024 first-round pick will play a huge role in helping them return to the Super Bowl and complete the holy three-peat. Xavier Worthy has concerns about his size and how his 165-pound size will translate to the NFL, but the speed he possesses can’t be replicated by any other Chiefs wide receiver, and the deep threat he poses has been on display in training camp and the preseason. If he can simply perform like an average NFL wide receiver, it would be a huge boost for a Chiefs offense that struggled with actively dangerous wide receiver play last season.
Worthy, along with offseason addition Hollywood Brown and the returning Rice, hopes to become the “real” receiver the Chiefs lacked last year. With Patrick Mahomes on board, no one is asking Worthy to be a world champion. Just be better than the previous guys. That should be an achievable goal for a rookie that will help him contribute big time in the long run.
Upside, upside, upside is the name of the day when it comes to Kingsley Suamataia, the second-round pick of the Chiefs last spring. Suamataia is still a little inexperienced, but he’ll get a chance to learn and flex his athletic talents with Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck, who is considered one of the best offensive line coaches in the league. Suamataia will open up right away as the Chiefs’ left tackle, and it may look rough at times, but it’s hard to find a 330-pounder as athletic as he is.
Like Worthy, in a world where Mahomes is the quarterback, there’s more room for error than with other rookies. It would be great if Suamataia could be a shutdown left tackle from day one, but that may not be feasible given that he was nearly a third-round pick. Still, there’s an upside for the Chiefs to have one of the league’s best offensive tackles if he can develop at the right time.
Jared Wiley could be the jewel of the Chiefs’ draft class when all is said and done. The former TCU tight end, selected in the fourth round, doesn’t have the opportunity to play a ton of snaps with future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce still on the roster, but he’s a very good athlete for a player his size (6-foot-6, 249 pounds) and should be able to make an impact in limited reps.
This is more of a backup pick that could pay off down the road, but even in a short role, Wiley should be able to showcase the athletic qualities that made him an early Day 3 draft pick.
No one really projected this guy to have a role in the Chiefs’ offense prior to the season, but it appears that undrafted free agent running back Carson Steele will actually play for the Chiefs’ roster — and not just the team. After rushing for 87 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries in the preseason, Steele found himself with a secure spot on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster.
Not only that, but he’s currently the second running back on the Chiefs’ depth chart with Clyde Edwards-Helaire set to miss the first four games of the regular season. Whether or not Steele can make an impact remains to be seen, but his preseason tape was good enough to be here. The Chiefs’ running game could use a huge boost after a rough 2023 season and Steele power be the guy who can do that. He’s at least a new option to try in the backfield.
