Where Do the Chiefs Belong in NFL Power Rankings?

The Kansas City Chiefs had their most disappointing season in more than a decade last year, ending their 2025 campaign with a 6-11 record. With a new draft class infusing young talent into the roster following a few free agent signings, where do the Chiefs stack up against the rest of the NFL?

Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated released his first post-draft NFL power rankings, which provide an interesting insight into how the Chiefs are viewed nationally. Slotting the Chiefs in at No. 5 in the league, Orr catapulted Kansas City back up his rankings for the upcoming season.

"Mansoor Delane and the versatile inside-out tackle Peter Woods headline a Chiefs draft class that felt as regenerative as we’ve seen in a few seasons," Orr wrote. "The Chiefs went after premium players this offseason after the spillover from years of late-round drafts and budget free-agency signings at key positions became difficult to manage. While this secondary is effectively starting over after being pillaged by the Rams, the Chiefs will have Steve Spagnuolo ushering in a new-look defense, which maximizes its chances of stabilizing by the time the playoffs roll around."

Are the Chiefs worthy of a top-5 ranking?

Spagnuolo certainly will have his cupboard full of young talent to bring up to speed, and I agree with Orr that the most important view of the new-look Chiefs defense is the long-term vision. There will be some speed bumps along the way as Spagnuolo reboots his defense with Delane, Woods and a cast of new characters, but it should be hitting its stride by the holidays.

On the offensive side of the ball, I'll nitpick the rationale.

The Chiefs made a premium investment in running back Kenneth Walker with a three-year, $43 million deal, but he's the only "premium player" Kansas City landed in free agency, and he was the only significant offensive investment of the entire offseason.

Safety Alohi Gilman and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga both got solid deals for their position groups, but nothing near the top of their respective markets. Delane, Woods and R Mason Thomas represent premium investments, but those draft slots are "premium" regardless of who's selected.

Walker, Tonga and Gilman all play "non-premium" positions from a financial perspective, and I'd quibble with the idea that the Chiefs chose "late round-drafts and budget free-agency signings" as a purposeful strategic choice that they're now pivoting away from. They've struggled to find their second starting defensive end because 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah hasn't developed. Wide receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy have been inconsistent despite being highly drafted at premium positions. Kansas City's free agent spending has been limited by large salary investments into the offensive line and their top-shelf stars.

Before the draft, the Chiefs swapped Bryan Cook for Gilman, Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery for Tonga, and Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt for Kenneth Walker. Nearer to Orr's point, the team did target premium positions in the draft, which is what I expected after their wave of non-premium-position free agent signings. Perhaps it's all a bit semantic, but it's a worthwhile distinction when taking a closer look at how the Chiefs retooled this offseason.

For the actual No. 5 ranking itself? To my surprise, I feel vaguely similar about teams No. 4 through 20 in Orr's ranking!

I could see Orr's fourth-ranked team, the Denver Broncos, being set up for a significant setback in 2026. I could also see team No. 20, the Green Bay Packers, significantly overachieving their current position.

Assuming that Patrick Mahomes returns and looks like himself within the first leg of the upcoming season, you could rank the Chiefs as highly as you please. If the Mahomes recovery and offensive experiment falls short, their rebound could take longer than fans would like. The margins are always very snug in the NFL, and 2026 will be no exception.

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