After helping beloved head coach Andy Reid win his first Super Bowl title in 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs will enter the 2020 NFL regular season as prohibitive favorites to win it all again this coming campaign. While that’s not a big shock, seeing as how most Super Bowl winners are almost instantly installed as favorites to repeat the following season, the fact of the matter is that these Chiefs clearly don’t fall into the category of a ‘normal’ prohibitive favorite.
Kansas City Chiefs SB Odds & Analysis After Draft
You see, not only is Kansas City brimming with talent on both sides of the ball, but they have a great mix of youthful exuberance and veteran leadership that is topped off by the fact that they have a player that is generally regarded as the best quarterback in the league today in 2018 league MVP Patrick Mahomes. Now, as they get set for the upcoming 2020 regular season, it’s time to find out what could lie ahead for Kansas City following free agency and the recently completed NFL draft.
Offense
The Chiefs went 12-4 in the regular season a year ago while also going a bankroll-boosting 10-5-1 ATS along the way. Kansas City was downright explosive on offense in finishing the 2019 campaign ranked sixth in total offense, fifth in passing, 23rd in rushing and fifth in scoring by putting up 28.2 points per contest.
2018 league MVP Patrick Mahomes might not have had an MVP campaign, but he was rock-solid in passing for 4,031 yards while throwing 26 TD passes and just five interceptions in 14 games. Still, the Chiefs added to their offense by re-signing veteran wide receiver Demarcus Robinson while adding tackle Mike Remmers, veteran quarterback Chad Henne, tight end Ricky Seals-Jones and running back DeAndre Washington in free agency.
Kansas City also surprised everyone in the NFL draft by forgoing D’Andre Swift and Jonathan Taylor in favor of LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the final pick in the first round of the NFL draft. The Chiefs also took TCU tackle Lucas Niang in the third round.
Defense
The Chiefs struggled in some areas on defense, while succeeding in other areas. The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2019 season ranked 17th in total defense, eighth against the pass, a dismal 26th against the run, but a stellar seventh in points allowed (19.3 ppg). To address their needs on the defensive side of the ball, Kansas City put their franchise tag on star defensive end Chris Jones while signing veteran cornerback Antonio Hamilton and cornerback Bashaud Breeland in free agency.
The Chiefs then selected Mississippi State linebacker Willie Gay jr. in the second round, Louisiana Tech defensive back L’Jarius Sneed in the fourth round, Michigan defensive end Mike Danna in the fifth round and Tulane cornerback Thakarius Keyes in the seventh round.
2020 Outlook
Of all the teams that have recently won the Super Bowl, no team looks more poised to repeat as champions than Kansas City does heading into 2020. The Chiefs have a superstar quarterback that is still probably just scratching the surface of his vast potential in Patrick Mahomes. Kansas City has a ton of talent at the skill positions and it’s probably not fair they were able to add to that explosiveness by adding Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
While the Chiefs struggled to stop the run a year ago, they were also stingy when it came to letting their opponents in the end zone and I believe they upgraded their defense with their handful of free agent additions, if not so much with their defensive draft picks. The fact of the matter is that, as long as Mahomes and player-friendly head coach Andy Reid are joined at the hip, Kansas City should be in Super Bowl contention every season. While no team has won consecutive Super Bowls since New England did so in 2003 and 2004, Kansas City looks like they’ll have a great shot to repeat, making them easily worthy of a wager to win, both, the AFC Championship and Super Bowl 55!
