The Kansas City Chiefs are back-to-back champions and have not shied away from discussing their chase for the first three-peat in NFL history. Good teams are made up of good players, so it stands to reason that the best team in the league over the past two seasons would roster some of the game’s best players.
Perhaps, then, it should come as no surprise that no Chiefs have appeared in the NFL’s Top 100 List for 2024.
Chiefs Notably Absent From NFL’s Top 100 List
Chiefs Players Likely Still in NFL’s Top 10
“The NFL Top 100 is now down to the final 20 players. No #Chiefs have been announced yet,” KSHB41’s Nick Jacobs posted on X on July 30. “Last year saw 3 #Chiefs in the top 10,” The top 10 will be out Friday night.”
Jacobs pointed to Patrick Mahomes (No. 1), Travis Kelce (No. 5), and Chris Jones’ (No. 10) respective rankings from 2023.
It stands to reason that those three players will appear in similar slots for the 2024 iteration.
Mahomes is coming off his sixth-straight Pro Bowl campaign. This is despite plenty of scrutiny around his pass-catchers (outside of Kelce) and offensive line coming into the season. He did throw the second-fewest touchdown passes of his career, though.
Kelce admitted following a recent practice that the 2023 campaign was trying for him. He finished with his fewest receiving yards since the 2015 season.
He also posted his fewest TDs since 2019 and the lowest yards per reception of his career. Kelce is coming off his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance and recently spoke about the importance of training camp in his 12th go-round. That underscores the level of buy-in he has after there was some speculation about his future during the 2023 season and the offseason.
Jones missed Week 1 of the season following a contract holdout. Still, his 10.0 sacks gave him back-to-back seasons with double-digit sacks and three such campaigns for his career.
Jones has made the last five Pro Bowls and two straight All-Pro Teams.
Notably, none of the Chiefs’ interior linemen made the cut, especially center Creed Humphrey or left guard Joe Thuney. Humphrey especially could have a strong case for next year’s list if he continues on his current path.
Chiefs Have Bigger Goals Than Top 100 List
While the Chiefs players surely want their due respect, they would also likely say that they are more concerned with following through on their three-peat aspirations.
They have dealt with plenty of off-field distractions during the offseason and have even seen Mahomes trolled by the Las Vegas Raiders, which he said will be addressed. The two teams will not meet until Week 8.
That gives the Chiefs something to strive for at the outset of the season.
Rolling into that road tilt with strong play should be a goal for the group, especially after dropping the second meeting in 2023 in a close 20-17 battle.
With a fairly daunting slate of games leading into that contest, it will be tough sledding. The Chiefs face the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and San Francisco 49ers before traveling to face the Raiders.
Main Photo: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
