Chiefs Schedule More Daunting with No Tyreek Hill

As we near the start of training camps for most NFL teams, it’s time to start getting serious about looking ahead to next season. There were several high-profile moves across the league that left some teams improved and some searching for replacement players. One such team is the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs have been a Super Bowl Contender for the better part of the last decade, making the postseason in eight of the previous ten years. But, they lost a major piece to their puzzle this offseason when they traded him to the Miami Dolphins. It was a shocking move as the All-Pro wide receiver was the second most important player on this team in my opinion. It ended a six-year tenure that helped the Chiefs win the 2020 Super Bowl.

Now, the Chiefs head into training camp with a lot of work to do. Their competition is getting better and their schedule for 2022 got a lot more treacherous without Hill on the field. Over the last five years, Hill has 26 touchdown catches on passes thrown 20+ yards downfield which is more than 10 touchdowns more than the next best player in the NFL. It’s ten more than the entire Dolphins team managed last year. This is a lot of production to be losing. 

This year, WynnBET has the Chiefs' odds to win the Super Bowl set at +1000.

Chiefs Attempt to Replace Hill with WR Signings

The Chiefs didn’t totally ignore that loss and have signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. These two guys are going to help, but they cannot replace the Hill. KC will need to rely more on their run game as a result. This could be an issue with Clyde Edwards-Helaire as their starter.

What is with all the hyphenated names on this team?

The problem is that Edwards-Helaire still has to prove himself in the NFL. In his first two seasons, he totaled 1,320 yards and eight touchdowns. I think he has a lot to offer this team if they are willing to put the ball in his hands more. 

Travis Kelce is still on the team, but he’s not getting any younger and will see a lot more attention now that Hill is in Miami. Kelce had his lowest output in terms of yards since 2017 despite scoring nine touchdowns for the Chiefs. 

The fact is that this team, specifically its offense, will have to make a lot of major changes in how they move the ball upfield. Fundamentally the whole system has to change. Make no mistake, the Chiefs are worse off after this trade. It will be interesting to see how much it affects their ability to make another Super Bowl run.