Kansas City Chiefs fall 10 spots in ESPN ranking of NFL teams’ offensive playmakers
Each year, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranks each NFL team’s playmakers on offense. That’s the wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.
Two years ago, the Chiefs were No. 1 on the list. They fell to sixth a year ago. Ahead of the 2022 season, they’ve plummeted to 16th, which barely ranks in the top half of the league.
The Chiefs are also the lowest-rated team in the AFC West.
The Las Vegas Raiders are ranked second, the Los Angeles Chargers are sixth and the Denver Broncos are 14th.
“It’s a long way from the top for the Chiefs, who are in the middle of retooling their offense,” Barnwell wrote. “Travis Kelce stands out as the difference-maker and would still be the favorite to emerge as 2022’s TE1, with age as the only obvious concern for the seven-time Pro Bowler.”
Barnwell added: “After trading Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs are rebuilding at wide receiver, where Patrick Mahomes’ top three targets — JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and rookie second-round pick Skyy Moore — are all new to the organization. Smith-Schuster is now three years removed from his 1,426-yard campaign with the Steelers, and while that was the last time he played with a quarterback who was capable of throwing the ball downfield effectively, it’s difficult to find many players who hit those sort of heights, didn’t come close for three years and then returned to their prior form. I’m cautiously optimistic, but that’s in part because of Mahomes, and we’re imagining what this group would look like with an average quarterback.”
You can read more of what Barnwell wrote here, although a subscription to ESPN+ is required.
