Kansas City Chiefs: Three Biggest Questions For 2023

Embed from Getty Images
The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the most successful NFL franchises for roughly a decade. Head coach Andy Reid has won 129 games as Chiefs head coach, including playoffs. Meanwhile, Kansas City has reached the AFC Championship or the Super Bowl in all five years where Patrick Mahomes has been the starting quarterback. He has helped the team win two Lombardi trophies out of three total appearances in the Super Bowl.

Even with all of that success, the Chiefs still face some internal questions as a team. It is never easy to get back to the Super Bowl after hoisting it the year prior. Though, Kansas City is looking to go back-to-back in championship titles. If that comes to be, there are a few questions that the team must answer during the course of the 2023 season.

What are the three biggest questions that the Kansas City Chiefs face this year? Let’s kick it off.

Is The Defensive Line Deep Enough To Close Out Games?

The Kansas City Chiefs actually finished with 55 sacks as a defense last season, the second most in the NFL. Only the Philadelphia Eagles had more sacks as a defense last year (70 sacks). Of course, Chris Jones will still be a lethal component of this defensive line. But in 2023, the overall youth and inexperience of this group will be an intriguing test for the Chiefs.

George Karlaftis actually finished quite admirably late in his rookie campaign last season. How will he perform in a much larger role this year? Elsewhere, you have Mike Danna, who was impactful in crucial situations a few times last year. He will likely receive a larger role too. Finally, rookie defenders like Felix Anudike-Uzomah, BJ Thompson and Keondre Coburn will possibly handle a meaningful workload as incoming pieces.

With veterans like Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap not currently in the picture anymore, how will the Chiefs respond with a chance to close out tight games? Does Kansas City become more vast with their blitzes under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo? If so, this group will be relying on plenty of power and athleticism from younger players.

Can Kadarius Toney Truly Breakout?

Embed from Getty Images
Kadarius Toney is most people’s clear choice as a breakout candidate on the Kansas City Chiefs. If there is anyone that comes close to filling a WR1-type of role at the wide receiver position, it would probably be Toney. The Florida product is arguably a perfect kind of skill set to place inside of an Andy Reid offense. His mix of suddenness, sharp change of direction skills and field vision allow for an explosive play to pop at any time. There is just one major question surrounding Kadarius Toney.

Can he remain on the field and be as healthy as possible? Toney has a vast injury history that extends back to his college career. In fact, he dealt with two different lower body ailments after joining the Chiefs last season. If he can stay on the field, Toney may be the leading receiver after Travis Kelce. That could further unlock more opportunities for Toney and a chance to lock up a top role in the Kansas City offense long-term.

How Many Wide Receivers Will Take That Next Step?

Outside of Toney, you really have a lot of unknown commodities in the wide receiver room. That did not appear to slow down the Chiefs offense last season. Yet, Kansas City is running with nearly a completely new unit this year, compared to incumbent pieces still offering varying levels of experience last year.

Skyy Moore is the name that is most fascinating to monitor this season. Entering his second career year, the Western Michigan product had a few flashes late last season. He is already garnering plenty of attention from Coach Reid due to his offseason workouts and improvements. Can he produce consistently from game to game? What does the role of Richie James look like as a new addition? He was decently productive with the New York Giants last season. At the same time, ball security and running crisper routes are areas in which he is hoping to make strides in. Finally, can rookie Rashee Rice make some sort of immediate impact after a high-volume college career at SMU? Overall, the Chiefs may need to see these depth pieces emerge quickly in 2023.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.