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Kansas City Chiefs 2022-23 season preview: Can they climb the Hill without one?

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Roar Rookie
6th July, 2022
3

They were the talk of the off-season, trading away Patrick Mahomes’ most explosive offensive weapon, but after dominating the draft will the Chiefs get better?

Strength
Now I know this might surprise you, but the Chiefs’ offence was one of the best in the NFL once again! They ranked first in the league for first downs, percentage of drives ending in a score, plays per drive, yards per drive and points per drive. It was nearly impossible to get their offence off the field, which has been a theme since Patrick Mahomes has been there.

Weakness
While their offence was powerful, teams were able to expose the Chiefs’ defence, specifically against the pass. It always looked to be their weakness heading into the season and statistically it worked out to be true. They were 27th for passing yards conceded and 26th for net yards conceded per attempt. I am expecting things to improve this season despite losing Tyrann Mathieu.

Player to watch
If you have only just started following the NFL or aren’t across other teams, the player I was referring to at the top of the piece is Tyreek Hill. He was traded to the Dolphins and considering his success as a speed-based receiver, I am watching Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He had problems with drops in Green Bay and was sometimes shunned by Aaron Rodgers, but I want to see if he can help pick up the slack left in the absence of Tyreek Hill.

Who’s under pressure?
History shows that picking running backs in the first round doesn’t end well and at this stage Clyde Edwards-Helaire is proving that. The Chiefs offence doesn’t utilise the run as much, but Edwards-Helaire has been ineffective in the receiving game. Without Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs may want to utilise the run more and if Edwards-Helaire wants to justify the first-round pick, he needs to lift.

Projection
Everyone thinks the Chiefs are going to drop off due to the Tyreek Hill trade, but with Mahomes, their offence will be okay. I look at their defence and first-round picks Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis are both massive upgrades at positions of need. They have dominated the AFC West for years on end and even though all of their inner division competition got significantly better, I can’t see them giving up the title.

Win-loss: 13-4

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