Last week, Pro Football Focus published NFL roster rankings for the 2024 season, and the Kansas City Chiefs were second in the index, an improvement from 2023 (No. 4) and 2022 (No. 8). The only team with a better roster entering training camp, according to PFF, is the San Francisco 49ers.
The article expectedly lists quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the team’s greatest strength and left tackle as the team’s greatest weakness, though, at this point, left tackle is probably better described as uncertain than weak. The Chiefs’ top candidates for the position are currently second-year player Wanya Morris and rookie Kingsley Suamataia.
PFF believes the X-factor is wide receiver Rashee Rice.
The X-factor
Rice is more of an X-factor for off-the-field reasons than on. As a rookie second-rounder in 2023, Rice was a revelation for the Chiefs down the stretch, as he caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven scores with an 85.0 PFF grade. However, Rice has had a tumultuous offseason with various legal troubles that could land him a suspension and set this offense back. Whether that suspension occurs in 2024 or has to be delayed until 2025 due to the legal process, the Chiefs losing Rice for any period of time could be detrimental to this offense’s effectiveness. If Rice can avoid suspension in 2024, though, with the moves the team made at wide receiver in the offseason this has the potential to be the most talented group of pass catchers that Mahomes has ever had to work with.
Nobody knows how long Rice’s suspension for the upcoming season will be, but the general consensus is that one is coming. The wide receiver has been spotted at organized team activities (OTAs), indicating the team will stick with him throughout his legal process and eventual punishment from the NFL.
I would speculate that the suspension will be between two to four games. If that is correct, it is wise to recall that Kansas City managed for four games without its top receiver before: back in 2019, when then-Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill suffered a shoulder injury midway through the team’s Week 1 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill went on to miss the next four matchups, and the Chiefs went 3-1.
Rice’s situation isn’t one to ignore — but not all that long ago, Mahomes and Andy Reid did just fine when they dealt with a similar instance.
The rookie to watch
PFF says wide receiver Xavier Worthy is the Chiefs’ rookie to watch.
Regardless of Rice’s legal situation, the Chiefs’ receiver room still needed a boost heading into the draft. They signed Marquise Brown away from the Cardinals and selected Texas speedster Xavier Worthy with their first-round pick. Worthy made history at the NFL combine by running a 4.21-second 40-yard dash, the fastest recorded time at the event ever. Worthy isn’t just a speed demon, though, as he had a very productive career at Texas, catching at least 50 passes for over 600 yards and five scores in all three of his collegiate seasons. The Chiefs haven’t had a speedster with high-end receiving ability since trading Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins two years ago and with Worthy, that element should be firmly reestablished in this offense.
Last year’s rookie to watch was Rice, and fans went on to watch him become a significant part of the Chiefs’ offense by season’s end. Kansas City has high hopes for Worthy to be one of those players who offers an instant impact, though we haven’t gotten to see much of him lately; he has missed OTAs with a hamstring injury.
Expect the training staff to continue to be cautious with Worthy as they prepare him for training camp. That’s a much more important stretch than May and June offseason practices. Assuming Rice is suspended, Worthy could see a good chunk of offensive snaps much sooner than he would have. Time will tell as to whether he can take advantage.
AFC West X-factors
PFF lists Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aiden O’Connell and Chargers wide receiver Quinton Johnston as Kansas City’s rival X-factors.
For the second year in a row, Denver and Las Vegas’ X-factors are quarterbacks. As we know now, those X-factors (Russell Wilson and Jimmy Garoppolo) did not pan out, as both players have found their way out of the division.