It's a huge surprise going into Super Bowl LX. The New England Patriots are taking on the Seattle Seahawks in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX. There's no Malcolm Butler in this game, and Pete Carroll isn't there to call for a pass in an obvious rushing situation. Mike MacDonald is going to give the ball to either Kenneth Walker or Zach Charbonet if he's on the one-yard line.
Both these teams were not highly regarded coming into the season. Both the Patriots and Seahawks missed the playoffs in 2024. Both made huge turnarounds this season and surprisingly won their division. For two teams like the Seahawks and Patriots to make the playoffs, teams had to miss the playoffs from one year to the next. The most surprising of those teams is the Kansas City Chiefs.
After three straight Super Bowl appearances, the Chiefs missed the playoffs outright. It was a disaster of a season. Everything that could go wrong went wrong, and the magic behind the Chiefs ran dry. The dynasty is over, but everyone is still young enough to bounce back.
This offseason can change everything. They hope this is the only time they draft this high, and they can get transitional talents that move the needle for years to come. If they make these 10 moves, they can get right back to dynasty status.
1. Allow Travis Kelce to retire
There are rumors that Travis Kelce is pushing for a comeback. He’s not a bad option at tight end, given this is still a weak position, but he’s not nearly the player he used to be. Kelce is in the middle of the pack when it comes to tight ends, but he’s going to demand a much bigger salary because of his name value. He’s basically a massive celebrity, and that fanfare and the appearances of Taylor Swift will come with a bloated salary.
The Chiefs can’t afford to spend extra bucks on vibes or celebrity. They need to spend their money on the best possible football players. Kelce was a good soldier for a long time, but he isn’t near the top of the position, and the Chiefs can replace his production for a much better price. There are tight ends to grab, both young and older. Kelce should retire to go be a good husband and podcaster.
Kelce will have his number retired at the next Chiefs stadium, and he’s a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer (at least, he should be, but the Bill Belichick news has us doubting it’ll happen for anyone). Kelce in 2026 isn’t a celebrated figure. It will be yet another example of a football player who stayed too long. Learn from Tom Brady’s mistakes and leave while your life is still intact.
2. Renegotiate Patrick Mahomes’ contract
Speaking of cap space, the Chiefs need a ton of it. According to Over the Cap, the Chiefs are expected to have -$62 million in cap space. Make sure you look closely to that number. There’s a “minus” sign in front of the $62 million. That means the Chiefs have to cut $62 million in salary before adding a soul to this lineup. It’s going to take some heavy lifting and really hard decisions to make this roster cap compliant, but we have faith the smart people in the front office will make it work.
The first move they should make is to go to Patrick Mahomes and explain to him that his $78 million cap hit is going to ruin them. If they can restructure the cap hit to more closely match his salary ($45 million), that could put them in a much better position. Obviously, there is an intricate maneuver here that makes it worthwhile for Mahomes to move his contract around, and it would give the Chiefs more breathing room.
Mahomes might actually look forward to a restructured contract. Coming off a torn ACL, he might be facing his own mortality. Getting a little security wouldn’t be the worst thing. He’s just 30 years old. He has a long career ahead of him, and torn ACLs aren’t as hard to return from as they used to be, but getting some guarantees in exchange for cap space is an easy deal for Mahomes and his camp.
3. Cut Jawaan Taylor
Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks took 47 sacks this season. Patrick Mahomes took 34 of those sacks over 14 games. He was on pace for a career high in sacks taken before he tore his ACL. His previous career-high was 36 sacks, which happened in 2024. This shows that the Chiefs’ offensive line has been a problem for at least two seasons, and many are pointing the finger at right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
He’s probably the Chiefs’ most obvious cut candidate. There are times where “most obvious” doesn’t necessarily mean “best option,” but in this case, it does make sense. There will be an addition by subtraction element to this, as the Chiefs will need to replace Taylor with someone better. There’s also an addition by addition situation with the cap, as the Chiefs would gain $20 million in cap space with a post-June 1st cut designation.
Maybe injuries are the reason why Taylor couldn’t be as effective the past two seasons, but that’s the reality of the NFL. Maybe he can still be a star elsewhere. He’s just 28 years old and should have many years left on the offensive line, but it’s becoming a math problem. To fix this team, the Chiefs need cap room and open roster spots. We see them addressing this position with another veteran who wants to protect Patrick Mahomes.
4. Trade down in first round, take Kenyon Sadiq
Let’s jump into the NFL Draft. This is where the Chiefs can have a generational impact that takes us into the second stage of the Patrick Mahomes dynasty era. If they knock this draft out of the park, then the Chiefs will be great for years to come. There’s one problem with that thinking: this isn’t the best draft in recent years. The skill positions are pretty bad, but that’s why the Chiefs HAVE to get this right.
The best way to get this right is to trade down. We don’t love the wide receivers at the top of the draft, but someone might be willing to send the Chiefs a haul for Carnell Tate or Jordan Tyson (if they fall to them). The Chiefs could then move back spots, say, to 15 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and add their second-round pick.
The Chiefs could then draft tight end Kenyon Sadiq. He would be the heir apparent to Kelce, and he could contribute right away. Sadiq is the kind of matchup nightmare that would put the Chiefs ahead of opponents for years to come. This is around where he’s being mocked, but the Chiefs need to pay attention to what comes out of the NFL Combine. His explosive skills could translate well there, and he might move up. He’s a necessary cog to this operation.
5. Trade up for Caleb Lomu
The Chiefs aren’t done in the first round. They are going to trade back into the first round now that they have two second-round picks at their disposal, jumping up to 27 from the San Francisco 49ers. There, the Chiefs should be prioritizing the tackle position. With Taylor now a free agent, the Chiefs should hope they get lucky like they did last season. Josh Simmons looks like a really good player (although he did finish the season on IR).
If the Chiefs can match Simmons with Caleb Lomu, that would be a great one-two punch. The Utah tackle has been rocketing up draft boards, which sometimes scares us because he could just be a flavor of the month, but this seems like the real deal. His quickness allows him to be good in both pass protection and run blocking, and being on the right side means he’s only going to have limited superstars to block off the bat.
Lomu is a raw prospect, but he didn’t allow a sack last season. He’s gotten better every year in college, and we expect it to continue in the NFL. This is a player for whom many will ask why the Chiefs have some kind of cheat code for drafting.
6. Draft Elijah Sarratt or Antonio Williams
To get the most out of this draft, scouts have to do more homework than in years past. As we said, this isn’t the best draft, and the skill positions appear to be really low on the totem pole. But the Chiefs need better wide receiver depth. Xavier Worthy is a good number two, but he hasn’t shown the ability to be a number one. Rashee Rice is supposed to be that number one, but he hasn’t been reliable from week to week. They need to try to get a big sleeper in the draft to address their depth.
We have two options that we think can be great sleepers in the draft. Indiana’s Elijah Sarratt is a great option. The National Champion is one of the best contested catch artists in the country. He caught 12 contested catches this season. It makes up for his lack of separation. The Chiefs need a true red zone threat, and mixed with the pure speed of Worthy, the Chiefs could be cooking with gas. Plus, we think Andy Reid will bring out the best in a talent like Sarratt.
They could also target Antonio Williams. We think Williams is going to fall in the draft. He’s a slot receiver, so very different than Sarratt, but he has equal impact. This Wes Welker-type can be shifty and streaky, but he will catch the defense off guard. The Chiefs might have to pull a four-leaf clover to get these guys where they want them (third round), but if it happens, it will be another draft win for the guys in red and yellow.
7. Trade Rashee Rice
It’s time to get out of the Rashee Rice business while the value is still there. Rice has been a massive headache for this franchise that just needs some aspirin. They got out of the Tyreek Hill business at the top of its value, and it paid dividends for years. The Chiefs won’t get the same return for Rice, but they will even get a first-round pick for the former second-rounder.
Rice is constantly in the news for negative headlines, but the rooster hasn’t come to crow yet. The Chiefs should jump ship while they still can. Maybe he’ll go to somewhere like Los Angeles or Foxborough and become a stand-up citizen, but that’s not a risk worth taking for the Chiefs. To build a dynasty, a team must be focused on the goal at hand. If the number-one receiver has other issues outside of football, it’s time to find another number one.
There aren’t many options, and that could be an issue, but it’s also why selling now makes sense. With so few options, Rice would garner interest. There’s a cost-benefit analysis that must be made with the player, and it would lean toward moving him elsewhere. It's about finding the team that gives up the most.
8. Get a better punt returner
This isn’t a huge issue, but if the Chiefs want to win championships, they need to make sure they are buttoned up across the board. Remember who is in the Super Bowl right now. It’s the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks. They are first and third in punt return average. First and third! They both have had two punt return touchdowns, so it’s not like the averages are skewed by a few big plays.
The Chiefs are averaging 8.1 yards per punt return, about half of what the Patriots and Seahawks are averaging. If we told you that on every such play, a team is leaving eight years on the table, it would be imperative to fix that, right?
Nikko Remigio has been the Chiefs' punt returner, and the special teams coaches absolutely love him. Hard decisions have to be made here. He returned 25 punts for 191 yards and no touchdowns. It wasn’t really a great season. There are dozens of players who could do a little better and a handful who would do a lot better. Punt returners aren’t expensive, but getting a good one gives teams a leg up every time they get a new possession.
9. Trade for Derrick Henry
Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are both free agents this offseason, and we can’t see the Chiefs bringing either of them back. It’s never worked with them as a platoon, and the team needs to figure out the position. Many have talked about how running backs are no longer important, but the Chiefs show why a good running game is the key to a great passing game. Teams have to think they can beat you up top.
There are many options to takea shot on. We think Blake Corum can be had in Los Angeles, and he’d be an amazing upgrade. However, the Chiefs need a sure thing, and there hasn’t been more of a sure thing in the league than Derrick Henry for a decade. Yes, he’s getting older and running backs over 30 rarely hit, but there are examples of superstars staying superstars deep into their careers.
Adrian Peterson had over 1,000 yards at 33 years old. Henry is coming off a season where the Ravens' usage of him made no sense, but he still had more than 1,500 yards. Would the Ravens trade him to the Chiefs? We think that with a new regime in place, they are open for anything.
10. Sign Jauan Jennings
The Chiefs will need someone to help bridge the gap while Worthy and their 2026 draft pick at wide receiver develop, and Jauan Jennings is one of the top wide receiver options on the market. He showed with the San Francisco 49ers that, when healthy, he can be a number-one option.
This season, he focused more on making clutch catches over big plays, having just under 700 receiving yards but nine touchdowns. The year before, he just missed 1,000 yards in 15 games and 10 starts.
Jennings has all the pieces to be a great receiver. He stands at 6’3 and 212 lbs. He has great speed and his hands help put him in a position to catch any ball. With Patrick Mahomes, we see Jennings breaking out even further. They will build the chemistry Mahomes has had with other talented players.
This isn’t the move that’s making the dynasty, but we see Jennings making a clutch play in a big moment that lives on forever. He’ll be etched into the fabric of NFL history after one of his signature catches in a big moment. Again, this is a temporary move with limited options out there, but it makes sense for the long-term too.