Throughout the month of July, the Last Word on Pro Football department will be taking a look at the three most recognizable faces of each NFL team. For this series, we’ll be looking only at active players.
The 2019 Kansas City Chiefs are just weeks away from the start of training camp. Now is a good time to take a look at which players are the faces of the franchise. This distinction takes into account players whose success on the field will have a large impact, as well as players who stand out because of personality or other factors.
2019 Kansas City Chiefs: Faces of Franchise
Patrick Mahomes
The 2018 NFL Most Valuable player is undoubtedly the most important Chiefs player. With arm talent we haven’t seen ever, Patrick Mahomes looks to follow up his MVP season with an even better season this year. In fact, Mahomes is so outrageous that he’s throwing footballs out of Arrowhead stadium.
That’s some serious arm strength right there??. @Chiefs @PatrickMahomes #OurQuarterback #ChiefsKingdom #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/YN7CUNSFCS
— 41 Action News (@41actionnews) July 12, 2019
The legend of Patrick Mahomes continues to grow. Throwing 50 touchdowns in your first season as a starter is unheard of, and the Chiefs were undoubtedly one defensive stop away from being in the Super Bowl last season.
Mahomes threw the most touchdowns on the run last season with 14, threw 12 while under pressure, and 13 deep ball touchdowns, which all rank first or tied for first in the NFL. With questions surrounding Mahomes’ best deep threat, Tyreek Hill, it should be interesting to see who becomes Mahomes’ deep ball threat this season. Expect another MVP caliber season from the face of the franchise.
.@PatrickMahomes threw 50 TDs on his way to MVP…
But @NextGenStats shows you just how good he was doing it in different ways (powered by @awscloud) pic.twitter.com/Rn22gGp7rv
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) July 9, 2019
Tyrann Mathieu
This is one of the biggest acquisitions in the off-season in my opinion. The Chiefs secondary was putrid last season to be honest. Kansas City’s secondary gave up the second most yards per game, giving up over 273 yards. The one thing that saved the Chiefs defense was having the most team sacks last season with 52.
While Tyrann Mathieu does not play corner, Matheiu is a play-maker. His versatility can help out the secondary. According to Pro Football Focus, Matheiu played over 300 snaps in the box, as a slot corner, and as a free safety. While in the box, Mathieu posted an 83.9 run-defense grade against the run.
The Chiefs brought in Tyrann Mathieu this offseason, one of the most versatile defenders in the NFL.@Mathieu_Era was 1 of 4 players in the NFL to align at least 20% of his snaps at slot CB, deep safety, and in the box last season.
Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/lft6J9MENT
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) July 8, 2019
With Eric Berry coming down the back half of his career, it will be important for the Honey Badger to come in and make an immediate impact. Having someone you can use all over the field should help out the secondary that struggled slowing down passing attacks.
Culture changer.
Chess piece.
Swiss army knife.@ChiefsReporter shows the impact Tyrann Mathieu is going to bring to this defense ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/faF2WbzoQh— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 14, 2019
Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL. Zach Ertz can certainly challenge Kelce for that title, but Kelce’s ability to make people miss in the open field and stretch the field vertically is unmatched. Kelce recorded a career high in catches (103), yards (1336) and touchdowns (10) last season.
We really miss football, so here’s Travis Kelce doing Travis Kelce things. ?
One. Sunday. Closer. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/wbm6ebE3ki
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 31, 2019
With Tyreek Hill’s situation still in the air, Kelce should become Mahomes’ number one option. There isn’t one linebacker or safety that can consistently take away Kelce because he has the size to post up corners and safeties and fast enough to run away from linebackers.
Further proof that Travis Kelce is elite at the tight end position! pic.twitter.com/mdc2EP3d2a
— PFF (@PFF) July 11, 2019
The Chiefs offense should still rank in the top 10 in the NFL with or without Tyreek Hill. But with him on the field, this offense becomes nearly impossible to stop with weapons all over the field.
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