Observers Say Net Result of Chiefs’ Decisions Is Top-10 Offseason

The Kansas City Chiefs earned a grade in the NFL's top 3rd for offseason moves.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) completes a pass as he's hit throwing by Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith (65) in the first half of the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Cincinnati Bengals And The Kansas City Chiefs 457 | Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Analysts are grading the Chiefs in the offseason the same way they grade the Chiefs in the regular season: All over the spectrum.

After an enigmatic 2024 season in which they finished 15-2 but got blown out in the Super Bowl, many don’t think they’ve done enough to improve. On Sunday, however, Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo dissected how Kansas City executed a “top 10 offseason.”

“Kansas City had arguably the best draft in the NFL,” Monson said on Sunday’s edition of the Drop the Mic podcast. “And the decisions they made in terms of free agency, retaining players, and letting players go, were a solid collection of decisions when you take the whole lot together.”

The Chiefs’ most significant departure was Joe Thuney, traded to Chicago for a 2026 fourth-round selection. Entering the final year of his contract, Thuney signed an extension with the Bears soon after arriving. Kansas City opted to sacrifice their most decorated offensive lineman in an older Thuney – along with his hefty salary – to invest in younger guard Trey Smith.

Smith (franchise player) joins Nick Bolton, Charles Omenihu, Hollywood Brown and Mike Pennel as veterans Kansas City opted to resign. But the Chiefs couldn’t bring back everybody.

Kansas City also allowed four significant players to leave in free agency: safety Justin Reid (New Orleans), defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (Carolina) and wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins (Baltimore) and Mecole Hardman (Green Bay).

Their most significant newcomer could be their first-round draft pick, left tackle Josh Simmons. In addition to the draft, primary Chiefs newcomers are running back Elijah Mitchell (San Francisco), cornerback Kristian Fulton (L.A. Chargers), defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (Minnesota) and safety Mike Edwards (Tampa Bay) – and, most notably, left tackle Jaylon Moore (San Francisco).

Palazzolo saw Brett Veach's vision in how he opted to handle the left-tackle situation for Patrick Mahomes.

“Look, the Josh Simmons draft pick and getting him at 32 overall might be the long-term solution,” he said. “I think that just pairs well with the Jaylon Moore signing. It pairs well to maybe solve this problem, that is a serious problem. … When they have issues at left tackle, the offense has issues.

“And the Chiefs are held to a much higher standard. They're held to a standard of, you've been in the AFC Championship every year since Mahomes has been the starting quarterback. The goal is championships. And if you don't win a championship for some reason, how do you fix those problems? …  And so, the Chiefs have potentially solved that with the transition of Jaylon Moore and the future of Josh Simmons.”

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