Kansas City Chiefs: 3 Biggest Offseason Questions

“You just kind of take it day by day,” Reid told the media at minicamp. “It looks like he’s going to be able to do some things during camp; he did it out here, so I would presume in 40 days he’ll be even better than that. So, we’ll just see where it goes. You go through peaks and valleys in this thing, on rehabs, where you might plateau for a little bit and then you don’t ever know where those are going to take place, but so far it’s been a pretty steady climb up the hill there.”

That’s great news for Chiefs fans, but let’s not forget: Even before he got hurt, Mahomes, who turns 31 in September, didn’t have the greatest season in 2025. In 14 games, Mahomes completed 62.7% of his passes for 3,587 yards, 22 TD passes, 11 interceptions and a passer rating of 89.6. The completion rate, yardage, TD passes and passer rating are all the lowest totals of his eight seasons as a starting QB.

The Chiefs open the 2026 season at home against the Broncos on Monday night. If the team opts to give Mahomes an extra week before getting him on the field, the new backup QB is veteran Justin Fields, whose mobility might be a factor against the dangerous Denver defense.

How will Kenneth Walker III fit in?

One of Mahomes’ problems last year was an unspectacular receiving corps that was made more conspicuous due to the declining production of 36-year-old tight end Travis Kelce. But if you ask Reid, the bigger issue was a running game that wasn’t good enough to keep defenses honest.

“You always go to your play action game … and you look at it and you check to see what kind of reaction you’re getting from the defense,” Reid said at season’s end. “Normally if you get a reaction, then you’re putting those guys in a recovery mode, which normally opens up the middle of the field in a decent way. So, we’re not getting enough reaction out of them. So however you take that … that could be because of the action that we’re showing. There wasn’t enough respect there that needs to be given. So, we’ve got to run the ball more efficiently, especially on first or second down on those run downs in those run situations just to stay positive with that. Somewhere you’d like to have a few bigger plays in that area.”

With that in mind, the Chiefs made improving the running game a much bigger priority than improving the receiver room. Which is why they signed Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency. Walker rushed for 1,026 yards with the Seattle Seahawks last season. In Super Bowl LX, he rushed for 135 yards and added another 26 via the air.

“(He’s) very competitive, he’s a hard worker,” said offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy — who returns to that role this season after being K.C.’s OC from 2018-22 — after seeing Walker at minicamp. “He doesn’t take anything for granted. He’s what you want. You love his approach in the building – he’s very professional in the classroom and he hates being wrong.”

How is the defense shaping up?

The Chiefs’ defense performed admirably in 2025 — ranking sixth in the league in scoring  (19.3 per game), but there is work to be done. The leader of the defensive front, DT Chris Jones, will be 32 in July. And on the back end, the Chiefs had to replace starting cornerbacks Trent McDuffie (traded) and Jaylen Watson (free agcny) and starting safety Bryan Cook (free agency).

And so, veteran defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was very pleased to see the team use its first four 2026 draft picks on defensive players.

“It was nice to see us get some pretty good players, we hope,” said Spagnuolo. “Now, the next part is to develop them and make them a part of this thing.”

The Chiefs moved up in the first round to draft LSU cornerback Monsoor Delane, who Spagnuolo said was the best corner in the draft, with the sixth overall pick. The first-rounder they got from the Rams for McDuffie was used to take Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods with the 29th pick.

“I’ve been really, really impressed with Pete,” Spagnuolo said at minicamp. “Not only (with) what he does on the field but the way he carries himself in the hallways … he’s like focused and that’s a good thing, especially for a lineman. He seems like he has football get it. I thought he made a couple of good plays today so we’re hopeful for him.”

Another sneaky addition for this defense is the signing of veteran cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who started the last two Super Bowl wins for Kansas City before being traded and slogging through two injury-shortened seasons with the Tennessee Titans.