The Chiefs’ midterm player grades are in. Here’s how the offense stacks up
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs offense outperforms record; passing attack leads NFL across weeks.
- Mahomes increases deep attempts; improved protection fuels efficiency gains.
- Run game underdelivers: Pacheco stalls while Hunt converts short-yardage.
The Chiefs have some catching up to do.
That’s the primary takeaway from the initial half of a season that began with the only 0-2 start of the Patrick Mahomes era. The Chiefs will be playing from behind in the second half of the year.
In record.
In performance? That’s the confounding part. They have been better than their record — an exact reversal of a year ago — which is why the betting market still ranks them as the best team in the NFL, as does Kevin Cole’s Unexpected Points model. They’re also still at least tied atop the Super Bowl odds, even accounting for the fact their path to a Super Bowl became a lot more difficult after last weekend’s loss in Buffalo.
The record derives from their 0-4 mark in one-score games. The performance reviews derive from a resurgent offense. (These grades would look a lot different if we sent them in after three games.)
The Chiefs lead the NFL in total yards over the last six weeks. They’re second in yards per play. They’re first in passing offense. And they’re the only team in the league to score at least 21 points in seven straight games this season, and that streak remains current.
The Chiefs need the record to catch up. The numbers suggest it should. The schedule suggests it will still be tough.
But how did they get to this spot? Let’s hand out some midseason player grades, focusing here on the offense. The defense receives its report card later this week.
Note: I’m grading players who have participated in at least 25% of the offensive snaps, along with every draft pick.
Kansas City Chiefs offense grades
Patrick Mahomes, quarterback: A
Mahomes is no longer the NFL MVP favorite — he relinquished those odds to Bills quarterback Josh Allen after Sunday’s result — but he’s playing like one again. He’s using the entire field, throwing the ball deep at nearly twice the rate he did in 2024, per PFF data. He’s sixth in the league in completions on passes thrown at least 20 yards downfield and sixth in yards. A year ago, he ranked 30th and 27th, respectively, in those two stats. He’s been more aggressive, yet he’s still rarely turning the ball over. It’s amazing what better protection can unlock.
Isiah Pacheco, running back: C
The box score numbers for Pacheco are fine. He’s averaging 4.2 yards per carry. But the numbers should be really good. Pacheco has faced the fourth-lowest percentage of stacked boxes in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. To put it simply: Teams are simply daring the Chiefs to run the ball when Pacheco is on the field. He has the sixth-highest expected yards per carry. Yet he’s 28th among 43 qualified running backs in success rate, 29th in explosive runs and 37th in yards after contact per carry. The Chiefs need better production from their running game — and until they find it, defenses will challenge them to run the ball.
Kareem Hunt, running back: A-
Maybe this is grading on a curve, because the explosion is long gone from the 30-year-old legs, but Hunt is the best short-yardage back in the league. He’s converted 18 short-yardage plays into first downs (on 21 tries), double any other back in football. It’s why his rushing expected points added (EPA) total is third in the league, behind only Jonathan Taylor and James Cook. There’s real value to his skill-set.
Brashard Smith, running back: B
At the least, he’s been worth the seventh-round pick. Smith is still developing as a runner. It would be nice if he could cut into the early down equation in the backfield, but he’s not there yet. His college background as a receiver, though, has been obvious. Among the 40 running backs targeted at least 15 times this season, Smith has the highest yards per route run at 2.49, using PFF’s metrics. He’s fourth in yards after catch per reception among that same group. There are skills here to work with.
Rashee Rice, wide receiver: B
His presence clearly changes the Chiefs’ offense ... when he’s available. Rice has four touchdowns in three games, one of them as a runner, and he’s prompted Mahomes to attempt some throws he’s not comfortable throwing to literally any other wideout. Rice is third in the NFL in YPRR, trailing only Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua. So why not an A grade? Well, I find it difficult to hand out the top billing to someone who missed the first six games — particularly when that absence was entirely self-inflicted. Put it this way: If Rice had played in all nine games, the Chiefs wouldn’t be 5-4.
Xavier Worthy, wide receiver: B
After a shoulder injury on the first series of the season, Worthy has seen a slight uptick in his production compared to his rookie season. He’s already totaled more contested catches and forced more missed tackles this year than the entire 2024 campaign. But he’s not been as influential after the catch as he was a year ago, particularly on short throws. It’s a more crowded group than the one he eventually led late in the 2024 season, but there’s still some room to grow. For example: You couldn’t help but notice that Bills rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston told local Buffalo reporters he used Worthy’s body language to help expose play calls. That needs to be fixed.
Tyquan Thornton, wide receiver: A-
For all the speed on the roster, it’s Thornton who has provided KC’s best deep threat. Actually, he leads the entire NFL with 17 targets on downfield throws. He’s made tough catches there, too. The playing time has dipped since Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice returned — just 19 snaps in the past two games combined — but Thornton kept things afloat when the Chiefs had few other options. He’s exceeded expectations for someone fighting for a job in training camp.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, wide receiver: B
The yards-per-route-run stat shows the improvement Smith-Schuster has made from the last two years. He’s at 1.31 YPRR this year after 0.89 and 1.06 the past two. There’s some toughness after the catch. You could do a lot worse for a fourth or fifth wide receiver.
Hollywood Brown, wide receiver: B
It’s a lot of positive marks for a wide receiver group that wouldn’t have generated many a year ago. As I said, they lead the league in passing over the last six weeks. It’s not a coincidence that when everyone is healthy, it makes it easier for everyone to slide into more comfortable roles. Brown is a perfect example. He leads all Chiefs receivers in catches (34), yards (389) and touchdowns (4) and has been a more reliable weapon downfield. He wasn’t left open in Buffalo on that downfield shot before the half, by the way. He flat-out toasted cornerback Christian Benford to pry himself open.
Jalen Royals, wide receiver: C
It would probably be more fair to offer him an “incomplete” grade here — he’s played all of 35 snaps. Royals hasn’t been able to crack his way into the lineup. Those 35 snaps have still yet to produce his first career NFL catch. A training camp injury slid him to the back of the depth chart, and he hasn’t been able to climb back up. I still think it’s too easy to consider that a blanket statement on the draft pick itself. The Chiefs so desperately and unexpectedly needed receiver depth a year ago that they were forced into a midseason trade for DeAndre Hopkins. But it’s clear the Chiefs are riding with the players with which Mahomes feels most comfortable, and it’s just as clear that is not yet Jalen Royals.
Josh Simmons, left tackle: B
Simmons was having a solid rookie year protecting the blindside before abruptly leaving the team a month ago. He’s back in the building, a source confirmed, but there will should be questions about his preparedness to step right back into a starting role after a month away. His on-field play impressed for a rookie, but he’s missed 44.4% of the season to date.
Kingsley Suamataia left guard: B+
His comeback from last year’s benching is one of the team’s best success stories. After a rough preseason, Suamataia has been barely noticeable. That’s a good thing. Among 50 qualifying starting left and right guards, Suamataia is in the bottom half in pressures allowed. That’s a good thing, too.
Creed Humphrey, center: A+
I’m only giving out one A+ on the offense. It goes here. Humphrey is the best center in football. He has yet to allow a sack this season, and he actually rates as an even better run blocker. He is cruising toward a second consecutive first-team All-Pro selection.
Trey Smith, right guard: B+
Trey Smith has been Trey Smith. He’s not the top of his class — even if he’s paid like it — but he’s steady. There are imperfections with every lineman, perhaps other than the guy who lines up to his left, but Smith’s aggression is a tone-setter for an offensive line that has played much better this year.
Jawaan Taylor, right tackle: C+
This might surprise you, but before last week in Buffalo, Taylor had allowed the lowest pressure rate among all NFL right tackles. There are 35 starting left and right tackles who have allowed at least two sacks this season. Taylor isn’t one of them. That alone makes it his best year in Kansas City. But that alone is not the entire Jawaan Taylor experience. He has still been flagged more than any offensive player in the league. Five of those are holding calls. An offensive lineman accounting for minus-10 yards is a hard thing to overcome.
Jaylon Moore, left tackle: B
Plan A, then Plan B, then Plan A again. Moore has handled his ever-changing role as a real professional. If we’re grading before the Buffalo game, he might slide higher on the scale, but it was his worst outing among his four starts. By the way, scan back up and take a look at the entire offensive line grades. Want to know why this offense has looked much better this season? That’s why.
Travis Kelce, tight end: A-
It’s not a grade I expected to hand out here, in all honesty. Kelce is pacing toward a 1,000-yard season, something never before accomplished by a 36-year-old tight end. He already has the fifth-most first downs (28) for any 36-year-old (or older) tight end in history, and there are eight games left to play. And these are more than dink-and-dunk catches. His success rate (plays that keep an offense on schedule) is 71.7%, the highest mark of his career. Part of that is his own doing. His 6.7 yards after the catch per reception is nearly double his 2024 mark. His six missed tackles forced is already double. A 36-year-old is not supposed to have a bounce-back season. He is.
Noah Gray, tight end: B-
At the midway point, Gray has still not topped 100 yards for the season. It’s not entirely his fault — the Chiefs have far better options at receiver than they did a year ago, and they’re using multiple tight end sets less frequently (38% of snaps compared to 45% in 2024). To his credit, Gray has become a more reliable blocker.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 6:30 AM.