Before the offseason gets rolling, it’s important to reflect on what the
Kansas City Chiefs were in the 2025 season. It was an incredibly frustrating campaign. The only way to ensure that doesn’t happen again is by learning from it.
So, here are five takeaways from the Chiefs’ season and what it might mean for 2026 and beyond:
1. The future of the offensive line is incredibly bright
It’s easy to forget now, but the Chiefs’ offensive line —particularly the left side — was being questioned before 2025. We weren’t sure what we were getting from left tackle Josh Simmons or left guard Kingsley Suamataia.
Kansas City feels much better about the offensive tackle situation now. Simmons had a frustrating season with injuries and a personal situation, but when he played, he looked like a top-5 left tackle already and is on track to become an All-Pro soon.
Suamataia wasn’t as dominant, but he got better every week and was playing great football by the end of the year. His physical profile stands out every week, but he also continues to improve his technique.
Between Simmons, Suamataia, center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith, the Chiefs have four offensive linemen who are all young and have played together for a while. All four are athletic marvels that should give the Chiefs schematic versatility. They have the potential to be the best offensive line in the NFL next year. The team should prioritize building the scheme around the offensive line.
2. The running back room needs to be overhauled
Despite having a great offensive line, the Chiefs’ run game was terrible all season. Unless it was a short-yardage run, most of Kansas City’s other runs were wasted downs. There were never any explosive runs.
Nearly all of the blame for that goes to the running backs; they were not good enough in 2025. Kareem Hunt was this team’s best running back and he rarely gained more than 7-8 yards on a handoff. Isiah Pacheco was plagued with injuries. The staff didn’t have a role for rookie Brashard Smith.
There are valid questions about the Chiefs’ run scheme and how difficult it is for ball carriers. The reliance on run-pass options plays into that, but Kansas City’s run blocking was too good to be so ineffective. The team needs multiple additions to the backfield this offseason.
3. The pass offense needs to beat man coverage
Kansas City lacks a single receiver who can beat man coverage consistently. Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy are too small to play outside receiver. Rashee Rice has struggled to create separation against man coverage since he was at SMU. That’s not Juju Smith-Schuster’s or Tyquan Thornton’s games.
Once tight end Travis Kelce’s ability to beat man coverage diminished at all, the Chiefs haven’t had answers, and it’s due to personnel. Teams have realized this and played more man coverage through the years. When they do, the Kansas City offense stalls.
In particular, the team needs an X-receiver who can align backside on a formation and win one-on-one. That would make it easier to put receivers into other roles and give Mahomes an easy read when teams play man coverage.
4. The pass rush isn’t close to good enough
This has been a problem for two years, and the Chiefs know it. Neither of the Chiefs’ Day 2 picks — defensive end Ashton Gillotte and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott — provided enough impact in Year 1. Former first-round pick, defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah was out all season and had done little beforehand. Then Mike Danna and Charles Omenihu seemingly slowed down, leading to the Chiefs’ pass-rush depth being too thin behind defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive end George Karlaftis.
In the past, Kansas City has overcome thin pass rush depth by using blitzes and creative pressures to bother quarterbacks. However, the strategy worked more when the Chiefs had higher-end talent in the defensive backfield. Kansas City’s blitzes didn’t work as well this year because the unit couldn’t play man coverage as well.
There’s no easier way to improve your defense than getting more pass rush help. A good pass rush works across all schemes and fronts. As of today, the personal preference for the ninth overall pick would be defensive end. But even beyond that, the defense needs multiple acquisitions.
5. The offense needs to get bigger
The Chiefs need bigger body types.
The receivers need to be bigger and capable of playing on the outside, but the tight ends also have to be more physical players. We’ll see what happens with Kelce, but regardless of his decision, the Chiefs need to bring in tight ends who can block. When the offense uses multiple tight ends, those players need to make a bigger difference in blocking. Backup tight end Noah Gray has utility, but he’s not a stout blocker and it limits the play calling.
When the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII and had the best offense in the NFL in 2022, it was because the unit got bigger. The offense used more sets with three tight ends that season and had Blake Bell to block. Wide receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling weren’t perfect, but they were bigger body types that could block. Their run game was sized up as a more downhill run game.
It feels like they learned some of the wrong lessons from that season and went the opposite way. Their receivers and tight ends have gotten smaller. The team uses run plays with more finesse than power.
Fortunately, the Chiefs don’t need to overhaul everything. Their offensive line is big and violent. Their running backs play with power. The unit just needs bigger players on the perimeter. When Kansas City signs some receivers or tight ends in free agency, it will be worth monitoring if they are big and like to block.
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