Will Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs passing attack propel the offense in 2024?
For the first time in his six seasons as a starter, Patrick Mahomes and his offense were not the driving force behind the success of the Kansas City Chiefs. In 2023, the defense held opponents to just 17.3 points per game, second best in the league. On the flip side, the offense was outside the top six in points scored for the first time under Mahomes, finishing 15th. While I don’t think the loss of L’Jarius Sneed will cause the defense to fall off a cliff, I do think the offense will need to shoulder a bit more of the workload in 2024.
Improved Pass Catchers
The Chiefs led the league in dropped passes in 2023 with 44 (2.6 per game). That was one of the main causes for their drop (pun fully intended) in efficiency from past years. The front office and coaching staff decided that they didn’t want to deal with those struggles again, if they could help it. They brought in two fresh faces that will, hopefully, lead to a more consistent and efficient offense.
With their first round pick, they drafted Xavier Worthy out of Texas. The speedster broke the 40-yard dash record at the NFL Combine and should help bring back some of the big play ability that this offense thrived on just a couple years ago.
Along with Worthy, the Chiefs also signed Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Though he has dealt with a few injuries during his career, Brown is an immediate upgrade to the offense when he is on the field. He can be a Worthy-type of player as a deep threat. He can also play like Rashee Rice and work underneath, making plays with the ball in his hands. What makes him dangerous is that he can hurt a defense in multiple ways on any given play.
An under the radar but potentially important addition is Jared Wiley. The team’s fourth round pick in this year’s draft, the rookie tight end has a chance to help the team in multiple ways. For starters, Travis Kelce isn’t getting any younger. If Wiley can pick up on the offense, he could give some needed rest to Kelce on early downs. He could also work in tandem with Kelce, bringing more of a receiving threat than Noah Gray has over the past couple years in two tight end sets. Wiley likely won’t be a major impact player as a rookie, but he can certainly play a role that helps the team win games.
Worthy and Brown, at the very least, should be an upgrade over what last year’s team put on the field.
Young Upside At LT
Last season, the training camp battle at left tackle ended up with eight-year veteran Donovan Smith as the starter. He held that position every game he was healthy, with Wanya Morris starting the four games he missed due to injury. Smith wasn’t anything special for the Chiefs, but he was a solid starter and gave confidence to Mahomes and the rest of the offense.
This season’s training camp battle will feature two young players, both of which have an upside to get excited for. In the four games Morris started, he showed many flashes of that upside. He was called for just a single penalty in his four starts and did just fine bridging the gap while Smith was out. Morris will likely be the front runner to win the starting job heading into training camp. However, he will have to beat out the team’s second round draft pick, Kingsley Suamataia.
Suamataia is a bit more of a work in progress. He isn’t the best size for playing tackle, but his skill set and experience should be enough for him to push Morris from day one. He is a plus athlete, which allows Andy Reid to call more intricate plays that require the tackles to get out in space to block. The difference between this year and last will be how the year starts versus (hopefully) how it finishes.
Smith was a plug and play option that the Chiefs knew they could rely on in Week 1. This year, it could be a bit rocky in the early going while these two get their footing, but the end of the year could see the starter turn into the left tackle of the future for the Chiefs.
Heavy Workload For Pacheco?
Isiah Pacheco has a running style that would make any coach from the 1990s jump for joy. He doesn’t try to go around defenders. He lowers his shoulders and tries to go through them. That is all fine and dandy on a play-to-play basis. Unfortunately, that takes its toll over the course of a season.
Pacheco has already dealt with injuries in his first two seasons, and he will likely continue to do so given his glutton for punishment. However, the only other relevant running back on the roster is Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who hasn’t been a beacon of health either. If there isn’t another guy brought in, Pacheco could easily see the biggest workload of his young career.
His carries per start from last year would have given him 249 carries in a 17-game season. That would have been the eighth-highest total in the league. I don’t see that number fluctuating too much, assuming he isn’t dealing with nagging injuries throughout the year. What could increase is his efficiency.
If the group of pass catchers is improved from last season, then Pacheco could see fewer heavy boxes. With one of the best offensive lines in front of him, he could see his yards per attempt jump. In turn, that will help the receivers face defenders that may be more concerned with the run than they had been.
All of this to say, the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs offense can be the most well-balanced it has been in the Mahomes Era. A myriad of weapons, a top-tier offensive line, and the best quarterback in football is a recipe for big time success as the quest for the three-peat begins.
