3 Chiefs roster holes that could cost Patrick Mahomes his chance at a three-peat

Winning in the NFL is never easy. Few teams that have managed to cement their place in NFL history as a dynasty, and most of them crumbled shortly after doing so. Before Tom Brady's stranglehold on the NFL, no singular entity reigned over the league for an extended period of time.

The Kansas City Chiefs will find that sustaining a dynasty is much more difficult than building it. Kansas City will have to battle through collective attrition, fatigue, ego, and contentment. The attrition of additional postseason games will begin to wear down bodies of aging players, and finding replacements won't be easy for a team picking near the bottom of each round in the NFL Draft.

With tight end Travis Kelce nearing retirement, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will soon not be able to find any familiar faces around him either. As Kansas City attempts to reinvent their offense, a third consecutive Super Bowl championship is far from a guaranteed thing.

Here are the Chiefs three most glaring roster concerns heading into the 2024 season.

3. Defense End/Edge Rusher

While defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has managed to scheme up pressure with exotic blitz packages, Kansas City's defense is thin on pass rushers, and Super Bowl contenders can always use players who can pressure the quarterback. In 2023, Spagnuolo's 4-3 base personnel package featured George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, Charles Omenihu, and Chris Jones on the defensive line.

Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu suffered a torn ACL in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens, and he is unlikely to be ready by the start of the 2024 season. George Karlaftis had a productive sophomore campaign with 10½ sacks, 17 quarterback hits and three pass breakups. Mike Danna, who has served as an undervalued rotational player, could fill in. Felix Anudike-Uzomah could also take a leap in his sophomore year. Still, there are a lot of uncertainties at the position.

Spagnuolo's most effective pass rush comes from dime personnel, which features six defensive backs, one linebacker and four linemen. The Chiefs used the dime personnel for a league-leading 185 snaps and produced 27 sacks, according to TruMedia.

2. Wide Receiver

The Chiefs offense averaged 21.8 points per game during the 2023 regular season. It was the franchise's lowest average scoring output since head coach Andy Reid joined the team in 2013.

Last season, the Chiefs relied on coaching, discipline and defense to win games in the postseason. That was enough to secure the team's second consecutive Super Bowl championship, but it's not a recipe that general manager Brett Veach wants to follow again in 2024. 

Many of Kansas City's struggles fall back on their recent inability to draft and develop talented wide receivers. The Chiefs have chased speed in the draft and free agency in an attempt to replace Tyreek Hill. In 2019, they drafted Mecole Hardman when there were questions about a potential suspension for Hill. They've drafted Skyy Moore and Rashee Rice in the second round of the 2022 and 2023 NFL Drafts, respectively. They acquired Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kadarius Toney. But no one — skill-wise or speed-wise — has come close to Hill.

Kansas City added veteran wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown in free agency and drafted Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. While Brown will likely prove to be a valuable addition, Worthy has shown concerning signs early in training camp. If the rookie wide receiver winds up being the latest example of the Chiefs becoming overly enamored by speed, the offense could struggle once again.

1. Left Tackle

On the offensive line, the Chiefs have been diligent about finding a blindside protector for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs selected offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, a year after they drafted offensive tackle Wanya Morris in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

While right tackle Jawaan Taylor will continue to anchor the right end of the offensive line, either Suamataia or Morris will have to protect Mahomes' blindside in 2024. It's quite a significant role to leave up to two unproven players. The Chiefs have yet to re-sign Smith, a 30-year-old veteran who remains in free agency at the moment.

Morris is in his second year with the team and served in a backup role last season. He made a couple of late-season appearances in 2023 after former starting left tackle Donovan Smith was injured. Morris didn’t fare well, allowing a 14.3% pressure rate across 223 pass-blocking opportunities, per NFL Next Gen Stats. He allowed two sacks and had three penalties through 340 total offensive snaps last season, earning a PFF grade of 55.6. 

Suamataia, who boasts the versatility to play left and right tackle, was a standout at BYU. He only allowed two sacks in his last two college seasons, but he'll undoubtedly have a learning curve as he gets acclimated to the professional level in his rookie season.

Mahomes has succumbed to pressure in the postseason before, particularly in Super Bowl LV against Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During the humiliating loss, Mahomes became finicky in the pocket after early pressure. He left the pocket early and generated unnecessary pressure. Although he's matured since then, no quarterback can overcome an overwhelming pass rush.