The ESSENTIAL Football Show 
Top 51 Cap Space: 2026: $6.9 million | 2027: $1.1 million | 2028: $91.7 million
Draft Picks: 2027: 1-5, Jets 7 | 2028: 1-7
Football Decision Makers: GM Brett Veach | HC Andy Reid | OC Eric Bienemy | DC Steve Spagnuolo | ST Dave Toub
State of the Team
So far, this series has looked at eight teams that have an immense amount of roster flexibility over the next three years.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the first team we’ll look at where that is not the case; with roughly $1 million in cap space for the 2027 season and significant commitments to their core through 2028, we have a better idea of what GM Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid are working with as they move into “v3” of the Patrick Mahomes era.
What that “v3” would look like remained a mystery heading into the NFL Draft; there have been plenty of iterations of the previous versions, but it seems fair to group the eight years with Mahomes as the starter into the offensively explosive, pre-Tyreek Hill version of the Chiefs, and the defensive-driven version of the team they built after that trade.
It will look different, but after the Chiefs drafted CB Mansoor Delane (1-6), DT Peter Woods (1-29), DE R Mason Thomas (2-40), and CB Jadon Canady (4-109) with their first four selections, it seems pretty clear that Kansas City wants to maintain that balanced roster moving forward, rather than making another dramatic change in identity.
There’s a lot of moving pieces, but it could all work out; after seven straight years of playing until at least the AFC Title Game, the Chiefs missed the playoffs entirely, which will allow this roster to get a full season of rest and rehab. Mahomes rehabbing a knee is a different issue, but for players like guard Trey Smith, who was sidelined with a back injury and then an ankle sprain, or defensive tackle Chris Jones, who has simply logged an enormous number of snaps in the last eight years, that extra time to recover and train could make a notable difference in 2026.
Offense
The one caveat to that point is that Kansas City’s main addition on offense, running back Kenneth Walker, does not get the benefit of an extended offseason after he took on a workhorse load during Seattle’s Super Bowl run. Fortunately, Walker split carries with Zach Charbonnet throughout the regular season, so Kansas City doesn’t have to worry too much about their explosive new back coming up with significant wear and tear.
That’s a huge plus, because as good as this offensive line has the potential to be, it’s hard to pay off the run game when you can’t get explosives, and while the line has to do its job to get things rolling, explosive carries are ultimately going to be driven by the talent at running back.
Adding a Walker is a boost, and a healthy Patrick Mahomes should give the Chiefs a chance to be a Top 10 offense, but despite the addition at running back, it’s difficult to envision this Kansas City team returning to its glory days with the current weapons at pass catcher.
Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy are a solid receiving duo when healthy, but even their most ardent supporters would stop short of suggesting they are anything close to what Kansas City had with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in their primes. It’s possible that Rice and Worthy develop in some regards, but I don’t think we’ll ever talk about them as two of the top five pass-catchers in the NFL; Worthy is fast, but he doesn’t bring the same level of “bundled explosiveness” that Hill brought in his thick, ultra-twitched up lower half, and Rice is a handful to bring down with the ball in his hands, but the fact that the Chiefs asked players like Tyquan Thornton to take downfield targets last year- an area where few Rice highlights pop to mind - speaks to some of the limitations in his game.
As for Kelce, he can still contribute in a rotation, but we’re several years removed from the tight end’s Hall of Fame peak. He still has the size and savvy to contribute as an underneath target, but he doesn’t bring the same level of twitch and explosiveness that allowed him to dominate the way he did for so long.
The offensive line could be the biggest variable - in the most recent Super Bowl iterations of the Chiefs, the most dangerous “weapon” on offense was arguably the interior line of Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, and Trey Smith - and while they could get back to that, there are some key questions to answer.
Humphrey remains rock solid at the pivot, but with Smith coming off an injury-limited season, promising left tackle Josh Simmons having endured a rocky rookie season, and left guard Kingsley Suamataia in a crucial development offseason, it feels like there’s a wide range of outcomes for this group. I’m particularly interested in how Suamataia, who has the traits to be a people-mover in the run game and has flashed some ability in that regard, looks in Year Three, which will be his second year at left guard after starting his career at tackle; the best case at right tackle is probably for Jaylon Moore to play average ball, but if Suamataia is a force in the run game, this interior three could regain their elite status, and if Simmons is consistently on the field, he has a chance to be outstanding.
In the very best case scenario, this Chiefs group could push to be one of the NFL’s best - there’s enough there if the quarterback is at the peak of his powers - but the more likely scenario is Kansas City isn’t quite that dominant, which makes it far more important that this injection of youth on defense hits quickly.
Defense
With three picks in the Top 40 of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Chiefs had a “choose your own adventure” scenario, and they did just that, making a statement by trading up to select cornerback Mansoor Delane 6th overall before taking defensive tackle Peter Woods (who entered the season in the discussion as the top overall player) with the 29th pick and edge rusher R Mason Thomas with the 40th pick. Kansas City wasn’t done, either; with no pick in the 3rd round, the Chiefs selected cornerback Jadon Canady, a 5’10, 180 pound corner from Oregon.
Those players aren’t walking into nothing; Kansas City’s defense will still be anchored by Chris Jones, who remains extremely disruptive entering his age-32 season, and several other established pieces, including defensive end George Karlaftis and linebacker Nick Bolton, remain in place.
Obviously, the better the rookies can play, the higher the ceiling is - you can point to Delane and say that the Chiefs would be looking thin with Kristian Fulton, Nohl Williams, and iffy depth at outside corner if Delane isn’t a hit - but the defensive line looks a lot like last year’s groups if Woods and Thomas don’t bring some “oomph.”
The good thing is, there’s a ton of upside fitting these pieces into this defense. Creed Humphrey’s draft arc wasn’t quite the same as Peter Woods’s, but after establishing himself as the nation’s top center as an Oklahoma freshman, Humphrey turned in two seasons that led to him being drafted in the second round, after the Packers took Ohio State center Josh Myers. That worked out pretty well for Kansas City; other names have been in the mix, but Humphrey has had a case as the NFL’s most consistently dominant center since he got on the field.
Woods might not have that type of ceiling at his position, but there’s a reason so many draft analysts were hyping him up, and if he can join Jones making noise on the interior, this is going to be a difficult group to account for. Throw in the addition of safety Alohi Gilman and cornerback Kader Kohou on the back end, and there’s not much in the way of clear holes for this group.
We all know the downside with draft picks - R Mason Thomas could wind up adding as little impact as Felix Anudike-Uzomah, a speed rusher who was picked 31st overall in 2023 - but the potential for a bang is here as well. Even Jadon Canady was drafted in a range where Kansas City has found a lot of starting corners, so the Chiefs should have options depending on how the rookies hit and 2025 3rd-rounder Nohl Williams develops heading into his second season.
Final Takeaways
In some sense, the Chiefs felt like they were running out of gas in 2024, when their regular season was defined by crazy one-score wins. There was obviously plenty of talent there - they went to the Super Bowl, after all - but on a long-term trend, it didn’t feel like the group that won back-to-back Lombardis in 2022 and 2023.
Whatever the case, they completely ran out of gas in 2025, but there’s plenty to like on this roster. The one-score wins weren’t there this year, but if we smooth out those results over 2024 and 2025 combined, the Chiefs are still a team in the thick of the playoff mix.
The Patriots are the preeminent dynasty of our times, and as I look at how the Chiefs are charting their course, I think a lot about how many versions of New England we saw over those years. Whether or not this version of Kansas City adds to the trophy case is an open question - it’s easy to forget the Patriots went an extended stretch without a Lombardi before stacking trophies at the end - but it’s also not hard to see how this team winds up with a Top 10 offense and defense.
The dice just needs to roll in their favor.