ESPN ranks the Chiefs’ under-25 core near the middle of the NFL

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Aaron Schatz undertook to rank the under-25 portions of every NFL team. He called it an important component in “determining which NFL teams are set up for future success.”

Schatz made this ranking by considering the number of starts and snaps made by these young players of each team (factoring in the relative importance of their positions) and the age-adjusted quality of their play. Also considered: the value and length of each team’s player contracts, value added from recent draft picks and projections for starting lineups (and time missed from injuries) in 2024.

In a list headed by the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs landed close to the middle.

14. Kansas City Chiefs

2023 ranking: 9th
Blue-chip players: CB Trent McDuffie, EDGE George Karlaftis
Notable graduated players: RB Isiah Pacheco, C Creed Humphrey, G Trey Smith

You might expect a two-time Super Bowl champion to be lower down here, but the Chiefs have done a good job of building a young talent base with later draft picks — along with Miami’s picks acquired via the Tyreek Hill trade. They’ve invested in a lot of draft capital, particularly in their secondary and wide receiver corps.

The star of the secondary is All-Pro nickelback McDuffie, who turns 24 right after the start of this season. McDuffie had five forced fumbles and three sacks in his second NFL season. Starting safety Bryan Cook is 24. So is Chamarri Conner, who might be a third safety or a nickelback, and Joshua Williams, who could be a starting outside cornerback. Linebacker Nick Bolton, the anchor of the defense, is 24, and top edge rusher Karlaftis is 23.

On offense, 24-year-old Rashee Rice has solidified himself as the No. 1 receiver. He caught 79 passes for 938 yards in 2023. First-round wideout Xavier Worthy is 21. And while the great Chiefs interior linemen have aged off this list, this year’s starting left tackle will be under 24: either Wanya Morris (23) or Kingsley Suamataia (21).

Takeaway

Reading this description of the Chiefs’ situation, it would be easy to think the team is ranked more highly than it is. Generally, I have been impressed with how general manager Brett Veach has found talented players in the draft — an absolute requirement for any team with a superstar quarterback whose contract accounts for about one out of every six salary-cap dollars — and this is reflected by the significant number of young Kansas City players who have big responsibilities.

But we must also remember that the team is built around quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones. While he could easily play for another dozen or more years, Mahomes is hardly a spring chicken — and as of Wednesday, both Kelce and Jones have reached their 30s.

Still, the Chiefs entered the 2023 season tied for the league’s fifth-youngest 53-man roster, so you can’t say the team isn’t keeping an eye on its future. It’s just that Schatz has (correctly) constructed a methodology that considers how the league’s teams have been (and will be) used.

Given that, I’d say the Chiefs are ranked about where they should be.