5 breakout stars to watch for Kansas City Chiefs in 2020

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Damien Williams #26 of the Kansas City Chiefs carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, MO – FEBRUARY 05: Tyreek Hill #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs thanks fans during the Kansas City Super Bowl parade on February 5, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) /

They are the defending Super Bowl champions and a talented team capable of repeating. Which players could emerge for the Kansas City Chiefs this season?

Champions until dethroned. That’s always been a strong mantra when it comes to the team winning a title. And these days in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs own the top spot in the league.

They come off a 12-4 regular season in which they won their final six games and then parlayed that into a postseason run that saw them rally for wins with double-digit deficit against the Texans, Titans, and 49ers – the latter a victory in Super Bowl LIV.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes overcame a midseason knee injury and while he didn’t put up the awe-inspiring numbers as was the case during his 2018 MVP campaign, this was a more balanced offensive team. And a defensive unit that was revamped during the offseason finally got its act together in November and was a big reason the club won its first championship since 1969.

Head coach Andy Reid begins his 22nd consecutive season as an NFL sideline leader – the longest such streak in the league. And no doubt he’s hoping that the following five players come up big this fall.

5. CB Charvarius Ward

It was a deal the Kansas City Chiefs made with the Dallas Cowboys in late August of 2018. The latter sent cornerback Charvarius Ward to Andy Reid’s team in exchange for guard Parker Ehinger. In two years with the Chiefs, he’s gone from special teams standout to a season-long starter in the secondary. In ‘18, he played in 13 regular-season contests and made a pair of starts. There were 18 defensive stops and three passes defensed. But Ward made a dozen tackles on the kick coverage units.

This past year, the Middle Tennessee product was in the opening lineup for all 19 of the club’s outings – including the three-game postseason swing vs. Houston, Tennessee and San Francisco. He was Kansas City’s fourth-leading tackler with 74 stops, came up with two interceptions and was second on the team with 10 passes defensed. Could his third NFL season wind up being extremely charming?

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