Three Chiefs players have everything to prove in 2025 pressure cooker

Roster turnover is an unfortunate reality in the NFL. Each season, teams lose key contributors who were central to their success. For the Kansas City Chiefs, the departures of left guard Joe Thuney and safety Justin Reid leave major gaps. Replacing their leadership and consistency will be a tall task for a team looking to return to the NFL’s mountaintop.

The roster is set, and the start of the regular season is just days away. For all intents and purposes, the Chiefs have the horses to carry them through their 2025 campaign. No major additions are expected at One Arrowhead Drive between now and February. What this team becomes depends largely on the efforts of the men already in that locker room.

For some players, the expectation is simply that they take the natural next step in their progression. For others, they’ll need to grow up quickly to avoid noticeable drop-offs at their positions. That’s especially true for Thuney’s successor, Kingsley Suamataia, and the new de facto leader in the back half of the secondary, Bryan Cook.

It’s unreasonable to expect either Suamataia or Cook to be one-to-one replacements for their veteran predecessors. Suamataia just needs to be serviceable in his role and avoid being a liability on the interior of the offensive line. The demands are greater for Cook, who will have to compensate for the loss of Reid’s football acumen and leadership.

Cook had this to say in Episode 1 of the new season of The Franchise:

"Someone has to be the anchor ... I feel like now I have to be more vocal. The leadership definitely going to be more pivotal this year for me ... Anything that is thrown at me this year, anything that was given to me on my plate, I feel I can handle. I'm the last line of defense. It's literally me and the goal post if you think about the defense.Bryan Cook

Cook has already proven himself as a competent NFL player at his position. The real test for him will be whether he can handle a wider set of responsibilities. Suamataia won’t be expected to lead, but he will need to tighten his technique and address concerns with his footwork, ability to anchor, and quickness off the snap.

Fortunately, Cook showed growth in the team’s third and final preseason game against the Chicago Bears. If that performance is any indication of his capacity to continue evolving as a guard, the Chiefs should enter the season with a vastly improved offensive line.

There’s also a significant ask for veteran receiver Hollywood Brown, and it’s not due to a departed player. The challenge for him will be helping to absorb the loss of Rashee Rice to a six-game suspension. While Rice is away, second-year wideout Xavier Worthy is expected to be Patrick Mahomes’ new No. 1 receiver, with Travis Kelce remaining a top priority in the passing game.

The real trick will be having a viable third target for those matchups where defenses bracket Kelce and Worthy. Brown is an important cog in that wheel. The Chiefs need him healthy and dependable during the six-game stretch without Rice.

The Chiefs’ 2025 success will hinge on three key challenges embodied by a trio of players: stability for Hollywood Brown, maturation for Bryan Cook, and evolution for Kingsley Suamataia. If this group can rise to the occasion, they will be well-positioned to once again represent the AFC in Super Bowl 60. The good news is that JuJu Smith-Schuster can help shoulder some of the responsibility in the receiver room. I’m not convinced there are strong alternatives for Cook and Suamataia, so for Kansas City’s sake, let’s hope they won’t need them.