SI Article: Chiefs need to change from efficient to explosive on offense

[FloridaMan88]

Can’t they be both… efficiently explosive?

Link: https://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs-facing...e-travis-kelce

Whether Travis Kelce decides to play in 2025, the Kansas City Chiefs must come to the same conclusion: They have to move onto their next phase.

No, they don’t have to release Kelce, although doing so would save $17.2 million in cap space. Kelce, 35, is too valuable and too important in the locker room to make such a choice, even with those savings.

However, the Chiefs must understand that to move forward, to attempt to reach a fourth consecutive Super Bowl (and sixth in seven years), the offense has to change. It has to go through receivers Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice, with Kelce being nothing more than a component.

Over the past two seasons, Kansas City has enjoyed immense success. The Chiefs have reached both Super Bowls and won one, to say nothing about winning it all in 2022 as well. All of this came after the team traded All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, but the metamorphosis from explosive to egregiously slow didn’t happen right away.

In fact, the slowdown began in 2021. After ranking sixth, 10th and 13th, respectively, from ’18 to ’20 in average depth of target (ADOT), Patrick Mahomes checked in at 24th in Hill’s last campaign with the club as opponents began to play more shell coverages.

In 2022, the first year without Hill, Mahomes threw for 5,250 yards and earned MVP honors. However, his ADOT was still 23rd in the league. The following year, it took a nosedive to 30th as Kansas City relied heavily on poor wideouts, including Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney.

This past season? Mahomes failed to throw for 4,000 yards for the first time in his career while ranking 41st in ADOT, only ahead of Gardner Minshew II and Tua Tagovailoa. Part of the reason was losing Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown early on to injuries, but another problem was the overreliance on Kelce.

Over the past two years, Kelce has been targeted 254 times. Rice is second on the team over that span with 131 targets despite playing just four games this season. Nobody else cracked 100. Despite that, Kelce hasn’t made either All-Pro team or gained 1,000 receiving yards after seven straight seasons of doing both before 2023.

Of course, the dependence on Kelce is also due to a factor that should keep general manager Brett Veach awake at night … the issues at left and right tackle.

And for Veach, that’s where the offseason focus must be.

For Mahomes to get back to his fire-breathing ways, the Chiefs have to fix their issues at left tackle. While Jawaan Taylor is financially locked in for one more year (before Kansas City almost certainly releases him to save $20 million prior to 2026), the other side has options.

The Chiefs, who have approximately $11.5 million in cap space, can open up another $50 million to $60 million with an extension for All-Pro guard Joe Thuney, a restructure of Mahomes’s mega-deal and adding a void year to Kelce’s pact. With that money, Veach could re-sign Pro Bowl right guard Trey Smith and then shop for a left tackle in free agency as Alaric Jackson, Ronnie Stanley and Cam Robinson are all available.

Veach could also go another direction. He could use the third-round pick acquired from the Tennessee Titans in the L’Jarius Sneed trade last offseason (No. 66) to move up in the first round for an answer on the blindside. By saving tens of millions by drafting a left tackle instead of signing one, perhaps Veach could get in the receiver business.

With Worthy and Rice on cheaper rookie deals for a few more years, would Veach entertain trying to add another big name on the outside? There are a host of free-agent receivers worth discussing at One Arrowhead Drive, ranging from Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin to Stefon Diggs.

For Kansas City, the offensive ethos must change. For years, the Chiefs struck fear into defenses. Mahomes could go over the top at any moment. Most importantly, every throw was on the board. Now, the Chiefs are throwing shorter than any team in football, and the result was the 17th-ranked scoring offense and a unit that led the league in plays per drive.

Efficiency is good. Explosiveness is better.

And that doesn’t only go for the receivers. If the line is improved, the running backs should also be overhauled. While Isiah Pacheco is a quality player, he’s also missed 13 games over the past two years and is hitting free agency in 2026. Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine are both free agents now.

For Veach, the draft class presents a cornucopia of options in the backfield, with running back being one of the strongest positions of this rookie crop. Kansas City would be wise to take someone on Day 2, giving the Chiefs speed in a way they haven’t enjoyed at tailback since the days of Jamaal Charles.

Ultimately, Kansas City needs to get faster across the board, and it needs to rediscover the ability to play aggressively. For years, the Chiefs and Mahomes have eschewed the intermediate and deep routes for smaller, surer gains. It’s hard to argue with most of the results, but Super Bowl LIX also showed that without a better line and some weapons to back defenses off, disaster is always looming against a quality opponent.

Kelce might play in 2025. His decision hasn’t been made. Fair enough.

But if the Chiefs want to taste glory once more and keep their dynasty rolling, Kelce’s choice pales in comparison to the other tasks at hand.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by O.city

Karlaftis and our first to Dallas for Micah.

Hard to envision that happening, Jerry always thinks they're almost ready to contend... ditching their best defender when he believes that seems out of character for him

[MahomesMagic]

Matt Verderame said he was at the game and the lack of speed on offense was jarring.


Kelce, JuJu, Hopkins, even Pacheco looked like they were stuck in cement compared to the speed on the Eagles D.

[Jerm]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Honestly, though -- just how big a swing is there to take?

What "wow, they did WHAT?!" sort of move would be out there. I guess a big trade for Garrett but that doesn't seem their style. Would even a trade for Tyreek Hill really shock anyone?

There's nobody that they can realistically cut that would surprise you. If they don't pay Bolton or Smith, that wouldn't shock anyone either.

I mean...I just don't see what they can do that would really set my hair on fire. Thuney, Smith and Creed are all guys with contracts that all but assure they're Chiefs next season, Jones and Mahomes are Jones and Mahomes. They're giving Kelce time to 'decide what he wants to do' which means they'd bring him back if they he wanted to come back.

I just don't see a slate of available shocking possibilities.

Tee Higgins would be the head turner for me….

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by FloridaMan88

The concept of running the ball is correct, but running for 1-2 yards with punchless RB’s would ultimately have done nothing.

Need explosive RB’s.

Exactly.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Matt Verderame said he was at the game and the lack of speed on offense was jarring.


Kelce, JuJu, Hopkins, even Pacheco looked like they were stuck in cement compared to the speed on the Eagles D.

The last 3/4 Eagles drafts have just been monsters.

[wannaGOback]

I think Mahomes needs to be a bit more comfortable with throwing jump balls. And we need a guy who can get them. Worthy had a few good ones to close out the year.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by wannaGOback

I think Mahomes needs to be a bit more comfortable with throwing jump balls. And we need a guy who can get them. Worthy had a few good ones to close out the year.

Absolutely. If only we got last years version of dhop. This years version was cooked and I hope it doesn’t give us cold feet about finding another

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by wannaGOback

I think Mahomes needs to be a bit more comfortable with throwing jump balls. And we need a guy who can get them. Worthy had a few good ones to close out the year.

Why make a leopard change his spots?

Just get him guys who can separate

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Matt Verderame said he was at the game and the lack of speed on offense was jarring.


Kelce, JuJu, Hopkins, even Pacheco looked like they were stuck in cement compared to the speed on the Eagles D.

Yeah - we've known that was a problem for awhile now. It was exacerbated by replacing Rice with Hopkins.

Pacheco lost more than a step.

And what we'd been doing in our efforts to outphysical teams in response obviously didn't work.

I mean ultimately it was just a situation where every single wart we had ended up fully exposed as loudly and catastrophically as possible. To an extent that comes down to coaching but also it may have just been that we ran out of runway.

The problem with smoke and mirrors is that eventually the smoke will clear and you're just out of answers.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Why make a leopard change his spots?

Just get him guys who can separate

Yup.

I don't care if Mahomes won't throw jump balls.

Get him guys that will get open quickly. And then maybe he'll start throwing the ball on time again.

His processing speed is one of his biggest strengths. If he had the 'yips' because he didn't trust his guys to be open and that's why he stopped working in the rhythm of the offense, then get him guys that will get open more quickly.

Rice is definitely a nice start.

Daniel ****ing Jones can throw jump balls -- that's not a QB skill and not something I really want to be encouraging.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yup.

I don't care if Mahomes won't throw jump balls.

Get him guys that will get open quickly. And then maybe he'll start throwing the ball on time again.

His processing speed is one of his biggest strengths. If he had the 'yips' because he didn't trust his guys to be open and that's why he stopped working in the rhythm of the offense, then get him guys that will get open more quickly.

Rice is definitely a nice start.

Daniel ****ing Jones can throw jump balls -- that's not a QB skill and not something I really want to be encouraging.

Can they get Tyreek back? Can we make that work? I mean....**** I know all the drama there but hell he'd be a nice fit with the 2 we got.

Waddle maybe? Do the Saints want off Olave?

[O.city]

I'm really excited about Worthy though. Just keep stacking speed and go from there.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Jerm

Tee Higgins would be the head turner for me….

The market for him is going to be HORRIFYING.

I mean it's a lousy WR market -- he is easily the top guy out there with Cooper and maybe Brown being the next 2. That's how rough the WR market is.

Now you have teams like the Chargers, Cardinals, Raiders and Patriots sitting on GOBS of cap space and all with dire needs at the WR position. Those 4 teams alone have $350 million in available cap space before they make a single cut or restructure next season.

If Higgins somehow hits the open market (I don't think he will -- the Bengals should obviously tag him) he might re-set the market just because of timing. As ridiculous as him beating out Jefferson's 4/$140 million would sound -- what else are the Patriots gonna spend it on? If they can get Higgins to say yes, they'll give him that deal.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

Can they get Tyreek back? Can we make that work? I mean....**** I know all the drama there but hell he'd be a nice fit with the 2 we got.

Waddle maybe? Do the Saints want off Olave?

See my post above.

Man, I just don't know that I want to be trading for WRs these days. The money is still ****ing nuts for them. Olave is extension eligible this offseason and hasn't done a shitload but may well get $25 million/season or more.

Like you said, just keep stacking at the position. Once the depth is established and you have a viable throughput every season, you don't have to do this annual first 6 weeks slog while you're waiting for your #2 (or even #1) receiver to come online.

You just keep plugging and chugging.

[MahomesMagic]

Tired of all the smiles from defenses because they get to play against KC offense and Mahomes.


Want to wipe those smiles off their faces and run a real NFL offense again.