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With 2021 NFL training camps just around the bend, it’s once again time to stack teams against each other with the upcoming season in view. Our friends over at Touchdown Wire recently released their pre-training camp power rankings. This is their first power rankings since the conclusion of the 2021 NFL draft — a ranking that had the Kansas City Chiefs sixth in the NFL. We thought that was a bit low and apparently, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield did too. This time around the Chiefs ranked as the No. 2 team in the NFL, falling just behind the team that defeated them in Super Bowl LV.
Here’s a look at what Schofield had to say:
“Anyone that watched Super Bowl LV was left asking one question about the Kansas City Chiefs: Can they do a better job protecting Patrick Mahomes?
It would seem that football fans are not the only ones wondering. After all, Kansas City spent a ton of resources this past off-season trying to shore up the offensive line. They added Joe Thuney in free agency, they traded for Orlando Brown, they coaxed Kyle Long out of retirement. They added Creed Humphrey in the draft. Oh, and they’ll get Laurent Tardif-Duvernay and Lucas Niang back after opting-out.
Was it enough?”
If the Chiefs didn’t do enough this offseason to help fortify the offensive line, the question needs to shifts to: Could they have possibly done more?
Schofield is entirely right that this season hinges on the team’s ability to do a better job protecting Patrick Mahomes. The crazy thing is that he didn’t even cover all the bases in terms of the offensive line moves the Chiefs have made. They also added Austin Blythe on a super-affordable one-year deal. They drafted a player who is considered the steal of the draft in the sixth round in Trey Smith. They’ve done a lot to be sure that a repeat of Super Bowl LV doesn’t happen.
If the Chiefs somehow fail at their offensive line rebuild, it won’t be for lack of trying or giving themselves good starting options and depth.
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