The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of a 2018 campaign in which they won 12 games, captured the AFC West division title and made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game before falling to the New England Patriots.
Now, the Chiefs are ready to take the next step.
Kansas City dodged a major bullet with Tyreek Hill avoiding a suspension, meaning the Chiefs' offense will have the chance to be every bit as explosive as it was this past year.
Of course, entering the season without Kareem Hunt will hurt, as he did play 11 games for the club before being released in 2018, but Kansas City is still loaded with weapons and will be a force to be reckoned with.
The Chiefs will kick off their preseason against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night, so here are three areas of focus for Kansas City as it begins its quest to win a Super Bowl.
3. Getting Mecole Hardman Going
Some feel that Mecole Hardman, whom the Chiefs drafted in the second round back in April, is Tyreek 2.0, and while those are unfair expectations for a rookie, it demonstrates just how highly some view him as a prospect.
A burner who could form a ridiculously dynamic tandem with Hill, Hardman will likely see a lot of action in his preseason debut, as Andy Reid and the coaching staff will likely try to get him going early to establish him as a threat right off the bat.
Hardman wasn't overly productive at Georgia, but he certainly has the potential to be a lethal deep threat, especially in a Chiefs offensive system that has Patrick Mahomes and his rocket arm under center.
Expect a lot of Hardman on Saturday evening.
2. Sorting Out the Backfield
Lead running back Damien Williams has been sidelined for a little while with a hamstring injury, allowing veteran back Carlos Hyde and rookie Darwin Thompson to get some shine in training camp.
Both Hyde and Thompson have looked great, which makes you wonder just how firm of a hold Williams has on the No. 1 job, especially considering that he doesn't have any sort of track record as a starter.
Williams returned from the hamstring issue on Wednesday, so he will probably play on Saturday, but Hyde and Thompson have gained some ground on him in the meantime.
Don't get it twisted: this preseason is essentially going to be an audition for all three halfbacks, so it will be interesting to see how Reid allocates the carries starting this weekend.
1. Gelling Defensively
The biggest problem for the Chiefs is their defense, as they ranked 31st in the league in yards allowed and 24th in scoring defense this past season.
Kansas City subtracted Dee Ford but added pieces such as Frank Clark, Alex Okafor, and Tyrann Mathieu. Clark and Okafor will more than make up for the loss of Ford in the pass rush, and Mathieu should help solidify what was a really shoddy secondary in 2018.
Now, obviously, there are still a whole lot of other issues with the Chiefs' defense that need fixing, but at the very least, Kansas City has some good individual pieces, like its aforementioned offseason additions and defensive tackle Chris Jones, who racked up 15.5 sacks this past year.
If the Chiefs can just become a middle-of-the-pack defensive ballclub, they will be an unbelievably scary team in 2019.
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