Kansas City Chiefs’ Roster Ranked Fourth in NFL by PFF
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a big Super Bowl win, and the focus of their 2023 offseason has been to put the club in a solid position to chase a repeat performance this coming season.
Adding depth on both sides of the ball, general manager Brett Veach has used both free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft to insulate a roster that defeated the Philadelphia Eagles just a few months ago. Kansas City faces a tall task if it wants to reign supreme over the rest of the league again, needing contributions from all 53 players on the Week 1 roster — and then some — in order to make that happen.
In their recent ranking of all 32 NFL rosters from strongest to weakest, Pro Football Focus kicked things off by listing the Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals as the top three. Right behind them, though, are the Chiefs in the No. 4 spot. Citing quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the club's biggest strength and also taking the over on the team's 11.5 win total, PFF was quite complimentary despite some question marks at wide receiver. Here's some of what Dalton Wasserman and Jim Wyman wrote about Kansas City:
Biggest strength in 2023: Patrick Mahomes
No matter who Mahomes has as pass-catching options, he always seems to make it work. This was no truer than in 2022. Despite losing top receiver Tyreek Hill in a trade with the Dolphins, Mahomes still put up an MVP season and won his second Super Bowl.
Biggest weakness in 2023: Wide Receiver
The Chiefs were already thin at wide receiver heading into the offseason, and now they’ve lost JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency. For now, their top receiver is Marquez Valdes-Scantling. However, they do have several potential breakout candidates, such as Skyy Moore and Justyn Ross.
X-Factor for 2023: WR Kadarius Toney
Acquired in a midseason trade with the Giants, Toney showed flashes of the kind of playmaker he can be in the Chiefs' offense. A full season in Andy Reid’s system should do wonders for the speedster.
Additionally, PFF singled out second-round pick Rashee Rice as the Chiefs' rookie to watch. The former Southern Methodist University wideout boasts an intriguing athletic profile and brings something to Andy Reid's offense that may have been lacking a bit in recent years. He, along with the aforementioned Toney and also second-year wideout Skyy Moore, are expected to compete at or near the top of the receiver depth chart with veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling also shuffling into the mix somewhere.
With all of that said, the wide receiver position is still a relatively unproven group for Kansas City. That's where the potential weakness comes in, as there are plenty of questions surrounding the unit. On the defensive side of the ball, Steve Spagnuolo's attack was improved down the stretch of the season and should take another step forward with more continuity and sufficient depth. The 2023-24 season is shaping up to be another successful one for the Chiefs and while they don't have a completely loaded roster from top to bottom, their depth can likely give them a fair chance against any opponent in the NFL.
