Arrowheadlines: Chiefs improved receiving corps still only ranks 16th in NFL

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2024 NFL receiving corps rankings: Bears and Texans crack the top 5 | PFF

16. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Even with Travis Kelce, the Chiefs finished 2023 with just an 18th-ranked team receiving grade. They have since gone out and upgraded in the form of Hollywood Brown, Mecole Hardman and Xavier Worthy. If Rashee Rice can build on what he did last season with the new names around him, this should be a better unit.

Looking ahead for 3 bold predictions about training camp | Arrowhead Pride Premier

Nazeeh Johnson wins the starting cornerback role opposite Trent McDuffie.I know many folks are bullish on Joshua Williams taking over in the base cornerback role across from McDuffie because he is the higher draft selection, and usually, that comes with greater upside, but I’m not sure that matters here.

Defensive backs coach Dave Merritt has expressed some slight disappointment that neither Williams nor Jaylen Watson has been able to capture the role full-time. Now that L’Jarius Sneed is no longer in Kansas City, I’m not sure they simply give it to the best of the two players.

Thinking back to last year’s camp, it appeared that 2022 seventh-rounder Nazeeh Johnson was set to win the outside cornerback role in the Nickel package before tearing his ACL. Now, he enters camp fully healthy. That can always be a question, but if that is truly the case, I like him over Willams and Watson.

Kansas City has said McDuffie won’t be a precise replacement for Sneed, meaning that he is likely to continue moving inside and outside. Look for McDuffie to slide into the slot, seeing Williams or Watson enter the game on Nickel downs. Another option is keeping those names on the sideline, allowing safety Chamarri Conner to man the nickelback role.

If it’s indeed Johnson and you add the emergence, the playtime for Williams and Watson may look drastically different in 2024.

NFL offseason grades: Bears step forward, Cowboys fade back | USA Today

Kansas City Chiefs: A-

From a public relations perspective, WR Rashee Rice, K Harrison Butker and DT Isaiah Buggs certainly haven’t cast the two-time-defending champions in the best light … or facilitated their effort to achieve the first-ever Super Bowl three-peat. But while Butker may yet be subject to copious boos, and Rice may yet be subject to a regular-season suspension, the organization seems to generally be in good shape as it pertains to another successful Lombardi defense. Sure, losing CB L’Jarius Sneed is a stinging if survivable loss, and left tackle remains a lingering question. But QB Patrick Mahomes’ primary lieutenants, TE Travis Kelce and DT Chris Jones, were rewarded with new deals. And it appears an offense that’s been stagnant by its own standards lately is poised to explode again with the addition of blazing WRs Hollywood Brown (free agency) and Xavier Worthy (first round). Adapt or die? Despite the regrettable distractions, the Chiefs appear very much alive.

Ranking the NFL’s Best Head Coach, QB Duos Ahead of the 2024 Season | Bleacher Report

1. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes lead an active NFL dynasty. They’re trying to win their fourth Super Bowl, which would be three straight, a first-ever in league history.

To put this tandem’s success into perspective, if you include playoff games, they have the highest winning percentage of any coach-quarterback duo in NFL history.

Ever since Mahomes became the full-time starting quarterback in 2018, the Chiefs have won the AFC West title and played in the AFC Championship Game every year.

Back in April, Reid signed an extension that runs through the 2029 campaign, and Mahomes is only 28 years old, which means this duo is here to stay and potentially dominate the league for another half-decade.

With multiple Lombardi Trophies and a win percentage that’s in the record books, Reid and Mahomes are truly in a league of their own in these rankings.

Travis Kelce outlines what his potential retirement timeline looks like | Arrowhead Addict

While hosting his popular New Heights podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, the two discussed Jason’s recent retirement and when Travis might look to step away from the game.

“… I know I can go out there and catch a flat route and turn it into a 15-20-yard gain and make a few guys miss, the moment that I can’t do that, I think that’s when I’m going to be when I’m like, ‘All right, what am I doing this for?’,” said Kelce.

“I get excitement out of catching a ball, splitting a bunch of defenders and getting a huge first down when nobody expected me to do it. Or I scored a huge touchdown in a playoff game in the fourth quarter when the team needed it the most. The moment that I can’t do that, and I’m playing it at an average or a less of a successful level than I am right now, I think that’s when I’m probably going to call it quits.”

Rasheed Wallace talks Chiefs fandom, ‘The Sheed and Tyler Show’ | Chiefs Wire

Each has a story about how they found their fandom, but few have a better tale to tell than NBA champion Rasheed Wallace, who recently sat down with Ed Easton Jr. to talk about his venture into podcasting and his status as a Chiefs superfan.

Speaking about his new career as a content creator, Wallace made it clear that he was getting used to being back in the spotlight:

“The podcast is different from regular broadcasting, or normal sitting-behind-the-desk medium because then you can’t say what you want to say, because you’re on public TV, and all that you got to have good etiquette,” Wallace explained. “But with the podcast, it’s easy because you can say what you want; I’m saying you can cuss and do everything you can. You can really be you. That’s one thing I like about it, and that was an easy transition for me because most of my fans know sometimes, I got a little potty mouth, but that’s definitely part of it.”

George Karlaftis odds to win 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year | Chiefs Wire

George Karlaftis Futures Odds

DPOY Odds: +8000 (31st in NFL, Bet $100 to win $8,000)

NFL odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 10:01 AM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Around the NFL

Vikings safety Camryn Bynum on Minnesota’s ceiling: ‘I expect a Super Bowl’ | NFL.com

Ask any NFL player what his goal is for the upcoming season, and the top answer is always to lift the Lombardi Trophy. Simply put, it’s the mentality necessary to approach a job that exacts a mental and physical toll.

Coming off a 2023 campaign where they faltered down the stretch and underwent a massive quarterback overhaul, many aren’t considering the Minnesota Vikings contenders, particularly in a tough NFC North. But safety Camryn Bynum was asked Thursday on NFL Network’s The Insiders what he sees as the Vikes’ ceiling in 2024.

“I expect a Super Bowl. Everybody says that, and everybody should say that,” he said. “But you look at the guys on the team, you look at the locker room, all the experience we have. Look how much depth we have, especially on the defense. So many guys. It’s almost weird looking around, you’re like, OK how are we all going to get on the field? There’s just so many ballers.

Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence — No added pressure with new contract | ESPN

His job is still the same as it was the moment the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him first overall in 2021: Win a Super Bowl.

“Playing quarterback in this league is pressure anyways,” Lawrence said Thursday. “I guess on the outside there’s going to be a bigger expectation with the long-term deal and being the franchise quarterback and having the contract. It might change how other people look at it. But for me, I think I’ve kind of carried that responsibility anyways.

“Being a starting quarterback in this league is a big responsibility and the team goes as you go, and I know that. So, I’m not going to add any pressure to myself just based on getting this contract. It doesn’t really change what I expect of myself and what the team expects of me.”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

NFL again tweaks injured reserve rules for 2024 season

Most of the rules remain the same. Once a player is placed on the list, they must miss at least four of the team’s games. While on IR, they are not counted on the team’s active roster — although their compensation is still counted against the salary cap.

After four games, a player may be designated to return, which opens a 21-day window during which they can attend practices but are still not counted on the active roster. If they are not activated to the roster during this period, they must remain on IR for the rest of the season.

While each player may be designated for return twice a season, a team is allowed just eight returns from IR during the regular season. In the latest adjustment to the rule, a team appearing in the postseason will be allowed 10 returns that year.

You may remember that during the owners’ meetings in late March, the league approved a change proposed by the Detroit Lions that would have allowed an unlimited number of players to be returned from the Reserve/Injured list during the postseason. This adjustment supersedes that change.

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