No team in NFL history has won three Super Bowls in a row, and the Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to make history this year. In order to complete the three-peat, though, the Chiefs will have to solidify several position groups. Coaches and fans alike should be keeping an eye on five positional battles during this year’s Chiefs training camp. The winners of these battles will go on to play critical roles for the Chiefs this season, and Kansas City can’t win if these players don’t step up.
Wanya Morris and rookie second-rounder Kingsley Suamataia at left tackle
Patrick Mahomes might be the best quarterback in the world, but even he relies on his offensive line to keep him upright.
Mahomes is special, yes. But, in football more than perhaps any other sport, each individual player relies on their teammates to help them get the job done. This is true for the quarterback in particular. On any given play, there will typically be at least four defensive players who are solely tasked with disrupting the quarterback. Their goal will be to hit him violently for a sack or a forced fumble.
Even if they aren’t able to get to the quarterback, they can still succeed in their goal by disrupting his rhythm or forcing him out of the pocket. If they can get him to focus more on evading their pass rush as opposed to looking for receivers running down the field, they’ve done their job. Even if the only thing they manage to do is force the quarterback to rush his throw and risk an errant pass, the defensive line has succeeded.
However, things aren’t all bad for the quarterback. That’s because he has five of his teammates who are solely tasked with keeping him upright on passing plays.
Perhaps the most important player along the offensive line is the quarterback‘s blindside protector. Most quarterbacks in the NFL are right-handed, which means that the left tackle is responsible for protecting their blindside. For the few quarterbacks in the league who are left-handed, the right tackle will be the blindside protector.
Teams typically call on their best pass blocker to take the role of protecting the quarterback's blindside. That’s because blindside hits hurt the most and can severely disrupt a quarterback’s rhythm.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they don’t have much depth along the offensive line. They’ll be relying on two young players to protect Mahomes' blindside, and it will be intriguing to see which one of these players wins the battle at Chiefs training camp.
The wide receiver room – Hollywood Brown vs Xavier Worthy
The Chiefs' wide receiver room will see multiple consequential battles during this year’s training camp. The first of these battles will be fought between two players who are each vying to become Mahomes’ go-to target in the passing game.
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown has been the safe pick to be the Chiefs' WR1 since he was acquired, but the team also drafted former University of Texas standout Xavier Worthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
So far, Brown appears to be the better route runner between the two while Worthy may have the best pure speed in the entire league from the moment he steps onto the field.
The wide receiver room II – Kadarius Toney vs Skyy Moore
Between Brown and Worthy, whoever loses the WR1 battle will by default become the team's WR2. That will leave Toney and Moore to battle over the third and final starting wide receiver role.
The outcome of this battle will be consequential for both player's careers. Whoever wins this battle will be in line for a starting role to catch passes from the best quarterback in the league. With superstar tight end Travis Kelce and the other two starting receivers taking pressure off of him, he’ll be put in a great position to be successful.
However, the person who loses this competition will find himself riding the bench and unlikely to get much playing time, except in the case of injury.
Can Justyn Ross make the Chiefs roster?
Justyn Ross flashed immense potential in college as a strong, fast receiver with a huge catch radius who was equally reliable making routine or extraordinary catches. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career and sapped him of some of his greatest gifts as a player.
He still has an enormous catch radius, though, and could end up being Mahomes’ best friend as a bailout target or a big body in the red zone. This is probably the best situation for Ross at this point in his career, but he just needs to do enough to earn a roster spot.
Isaiah Pacheco vs Clyde Edwards-Helaire
The Chiefs can’t really go wrong with either player here, but it will be exciting for fans to keep an eye on the competition brewing in the running back room. Pacheco and Edwards-Helaire are both familiar with the team's system and they are both veteran presences who can be relied upon to carry the Chiefs’ running game.
With Mahomes under center, neither player really has to do too much, but they just have to keep defenses, honest, and bring some balance to the office. Pacheco is a more powerful runner and has better top-end speed, but Edwards-Helaire has better vision to find cut-back lanes and is better as a receiver out of the backfield. Both players are roughly equivalent in terms of agility and overall athleticism.
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