In an ongoing offseason series, experts from The 33rd Team offer three things each team can do to improve in 2023.
AFC: BAL | BUF | CIN | CLE | HOU | IND | JAX | LAC | LV | MIA | NE | NYJ | PIT | TEN
NFC: ATL | CAR | DAL | DET | GB | LAR | MIN | NYG | PHI | SEA | SF | TB
Here are three ways to improve the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2023 NFL season.
Three Ways to Improve Chiefs
1. Bolster Defensive Line
Chris Jones is coming off one of the best years of his career, solidifying him as one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. He’s right up there with Aaron Donald. Getting Jones surrounded by as many guys as possible is essential because every team will gameplan around him. We’ve seen what the NFL has become — it’s a passing league, and getting after the passer is the most important thing for modern defenses.
George Karlaftis has had a good rookie year. He’s going to continue to improve. Veteran Frank Clark has a considerable cap number, and the Chiefs will have to decide whether to figure out something with the contract to keep him or if he leaves, you have to replace him.
Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders had a good year, but he’s a free agent. Continuing to bolster that group and make it a true defensive strength would be a huge step forward for the Chiefs.
2. Solidify Offensive Tackle
The interior three are all signed up, and Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith are entering their third year on the rookie deal. So that is solidified, but Orlando Brown Jr. is a free agent yet again, and so is Andrew Wylie.
The Chiefs have decisions to make, and since this is not the cheapest roster, there’s only so much money to go around. They must choose their spots and determine how they want to pay guys. But those two tackle spots are huge priorities.
Obviously, one of those is my former position. So I know how important it is to the offensive line. Based on everything we’ve seen from the Chiefs, they seem to be working towards that long-term deal with Brown, so they’ll know what his cap hits look like over the next few years.
Wylie had a great year. He has had a good couple of good years and has been among the more underrated starting NFL offensive linemen. So figuring out what Wylie’s contract looks like will be important.
Does he go somewhere else? Can Wylie sign a big deal to become a starter? Can Kansas City afford him?
If they can’t, what does that look like? Lucas Niang is still on the roster, and he was playing good ball two years ago before he got hurt. Does he replace Wylie? Prince Tega Wanogho has been on the roster for a couple of years. Does he slide in, or do they try to find a veteran to fill that role?
3. Keep Adding Offensive Weapons
Last year was the first time the Chiefs didn’t have that true explosive element to the offense. They still had fast guys that sold the ability to stretch the field, but things were slightly different in the post-Tyreek Hill era. Filling that wide receiver room with as many dynamic guys is essential.
We saw the Chiefs acquire Kadarius Toney for that reason. Now, with Mecole Hardman leaving and Juju Smith-Schuster set to enter free agency, they’ve got a couple of guys in that room who have played a lot of snaps leaving. So whether you re-sign those guys or you draft some more, they need to bolster that group.
Skyy Moore was a second-rounder this past year and played a little less than Chiefs fans wanted. So seeing him emerge in a true starting role would be nice.
They can bolster that room through the draft and free agency, getting as much talent, as much speed, and as much athleticism as they can, and then trust Patrick Mahomes to make it all work.
