2016 Outlook

Coaching Staff

HC: Andy Reid

OC: Brad Childress & Matt Nagy

DC: Bob Sutton

ST: Dave Toub

Projected Depth Chart

Offense

QB. Alex Smith, Nick Foles

RB. Jamaal Charles, Charcandrick West

FB. Anthony Sherman

WR. Jeremy Maclin, Frankie Hammond

WR. Albert Wilson, De’Anthony Thomas

WR. Rod Streater

TE. Travis Kelce, James O’Shaughnessy

LT. Eric Fisher, Zach Sterup

LG. Parker Ehinger, Jarrod Pughsley

C. Mitch Morse, Zach Fulton

RG. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Devey Jordan

RT. Mitchell Schwartz, Jah Reid

Defense

DE. Chris Jones, Rakeem Nunez-Roches

NT. Dontari Poe, David King

DE. Jaye Howard, Allen Bailey

OLB. Justin Houston, Frank Zombo

MLB. Derrick Johnson, DJ Alexander

MLB. Josh Mauga, Ramik Wilson

OLB. Tamba Hali, Dee Ford

CB. Marcus Peters, Keivarae Wilson

SS. Stevie Brown, Jamell Fleming

FS. Eric Berry, Daniel Sorensen

CB. Phillp Gaines, Eric Murray

NB. Steven Nelson

Special Teams

K. Cairo Santos

P. Dustin Colquitt

Breakdown

Offense: 

Offensively, I think the Chiefs could struggle in 2016. Much will be dependent upon Jamaal Charles, who only played in 5 games last year. If he bounces back and returns to form, he can help alleviate a lot of the Chiefs issues. Both West and Ware did a good job filling in for Charles a year ago, which has helped create really strong depth at the RB position. The issue will be this receiving corps. Who will step up and make plays outside of Jeremy Maclin and tight end Travis Kelce? Last season, those were the only players on the entire team to catch more than 40 passes or accumulate over 500 yards receiving. The Chiefs didn’t draft any receivers that appear ready to help this season and their lone free agent pick up at that position was Rod Streater, who had a whopping 1 catch all of last season. Alex Smith is under center for another season and, even though he can play, his limitations as a QB are well documented. His lack of arm strength and ability to threaten defenses down the field really limits the Chiefs’ offense as a whole. Another issue the Chiefs had a year ago was their offensive line play. The 1st-overall pick in 2013 was Eric Fisher, the starting LT, and he has yet to live up to that pick or even the new contract extension he just signed. Jeff Allen was the best player on the line a year ago, but left via free agency and Ben Grubbs is likely to retire after a severe neck injury. The Chiefs will be very weak at guard this season, relying on Parker Ehinger, a rookie 4th-rounder, and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a 6th-round pick back in 2014, to get the job done. Their 2 positions of strength will be center and right tackle. Mitch Morse, the team’s 2nd-round pick in 2015, looked really good at times last year and looks to be the the solution for years to come at center. And Mitchell Schwartz, the team’s biggest free agent pickup, is one of the best RTs in the NFL. Ultimately, I don’t think this team has enough play makers on the outside or talent on the offensive line to be anything more than average on offense.

Defense: 

By no means do I expect the Chiefs to struggle defensively, but I do expect them to take a step back from the elite level they’ve been playing at over the course of the last 2 seasons. This team took major losses in free agency on defense and some of the key players that remain could fall victim to Father Time. But a position of strength for this team should definitely be their defensive line. Jaye Howard had a strong season last year and can play either end or nose. He’ll start at end, but if Poe gets hurt again, he can move inside if necessary. A back injury limited Poe all season a year ago. However, he was still effective stopping the run and now that he’s fully healthy, I expect him to have a big year with him in the last year of his deal. Allen Bailey figures to start at the other end spot. He’s a good player and had a good season in 2015, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if 2nd-round pick Chris Jones ended up taking over for Bailey by the end of the year. The Chiefs are strong at LB but also getting up there in age. When healthy Justin Houston is the best player on the Chiefs team and a defensive player of the year caliber player. But he missed the last 5 games of the year and is currently on the PUP list. How healthy will he be in 2016 is a huge question for the Chiefs. On the other edge is Tamba Hali, who although is still effective, is also clearly starting to slow down. Could this be the year we see Dee Ford finally take over a starting role? Ford was the team’s 1st-round pick back in 2014 coming off a college season where he was an elite speed rusher. He had 4 sacks last season in 5 starts and could finally be ready to take on a larger role for this defense. In the middle, Derrick Johnson is coming off a fantastic season, but how much does he have left? He’ll turn 34 in November and you have to wonder if he can really duplicate that kind of performance for another full season at his age. Josh Mauga, the other starting MLB, might be the worst starter on the defense and if anything happens to Johnson, the Chiefs certainly don’t have the depth to make up for it. The secondary is where the Chiefs took the biggest hit, losing 3 key players from last year. I think the Chiefs secondary will be the biggest reason they take a step back defensively in 2016. Peters will be the number 1 corner for the Chiefs this season. But don’t let the 8 interceptions fool you, Peters’ play last year was very up and down as he also was among league leaders in giving up big plays. He has to be more consistent if he wants to take over for Sean Smith as the number 1 guy. Phillip Gaines, the team’s 2014 3rd-round pick, is a really quick corner with good length that looks to take over the other starting corner spot. At safety, Eric Berry is 1 of the best in the league no doubt. The biggest question will be can this team replace Ron Parker at the other safety spot? Veteran Stevie Brown will attempt to do so. He’s been incredibly injury prone over the course of his career and it’s really hard to know just what he has left at this point. After a very productive season in 2012 with the Giants, he has only played in 1 season since and that year he only played 8 games. Overall, the Chiefs still have enough talent in the front 7 to be a good defense but the losses in the secondary will limit just how good they can be.