KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes is the most important player on the Chiefs’ roster.
Let’s be honest — he’s the most important player in the NFL right now.
There’s a reason he signed a half-billion contract extension during the offseason.
That’s not a knock on Travis Kelce, who has a claim as the NFL’s best tight end, or wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who may be the league’s fastest man.
It’s not meant to cast aspersions toward reigning team MVP Tyrann Mathieu or stud two-way defensive end Frank Clark, who were the key additions last season’s defensive revamp that powered Kansas City to the NFL summit for the first time in 50 years.
Every one of those players probably needs to stay healthy and continue to produce at an elite level for the Chiefs to have a chance to become the first repeat Super Bowl champions, but star players alone aren’t enough in football.
It’s the ultimate team sport, so here are a few of the guys who aren’t necessarily headline-grabbers with the most pressure to perform in 2020 if Kansas City is going to return to Florida in February for Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa:
CB Charvarius Ward
With Bashaud Breeland suspended for the season’s first four games and a host of unproven, untested young corners filling out the rest of the roster, third-year cornerback Charvarius Ward needs to continue his evolution as one of the NFL’s top cover corners.
He doesn’t need to suddenly become an All-Pro, but Ward also can’t afford a slow start to the season. He allowed a 65.2 quarterback rating and 47.2% completion percentage against when targeted in coverage last season. If he can replicate that, the Chiefs will be in good shape until Breeland returns.
DT Chris Jones
Maybe it seems odd to include Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones here, but it shouldn’t be a surprise after a semi-contentious offseason from a business standpoint. The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Jones in March. A few months later, he threatened to sit out unless he received a big-money contract, one he deserved based on his play the last few seasons.
But now we’ll find out if Jones — who finished third in the NFL with 15.5 sacks in 2018 and led KC with nine sacks last season — considered the four-year, $85-million deal he received in mid-July a destination or a sign of respect in his quest for Canton.
If he’s content with the life-changing money, Kansas City won’t see the return on investment it hoped for when signing Jones to the mega-deal this summer. If securing the bag makes Jones hungry to prove he deserved it, he should continue to evolve into one of the league’s top interior pass-rush threats — and may be in line for an even bigger deal in a few years.
RG Andrew Wylie
Two years ago, interior offensive lineman Andrew Wylie was a revelation for the Chiefs. He took over at right guard when Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was injured, starting 10 games and earning the 2018 Mack Lee Hill Award as Kansas City’s top rookie.
Wylie, who had gone undrafted in 2017 and bounced around on a few practice squads before getting his shot with the Chiefs, looked like a steal, but he struggled with the switch to left guard in 2019.
With Duvernay-Tardif, a Canadian doctor, having opted out for 2020, Wylie — who missed the end of the season and playoffs with a sprained ankle — moves back to right guard and will be a critical piece in protecting Mahomes.
LB Willie Gay Jr.
If the Chiefs’ defense had a glaring weakness last season, it was linebackers in pass coverage. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo managed to scheme around the issue as the season went along, but Gay could erase the need to get overly creative if he is a quick study.
Mississippi State product Willie Gay Jr., who was Kansas City’s 2020 second-round pick, adds an element of speed and athleticism that the Chiefs’ linebacking corps lacked last season. He’ll feature prominently on special teams to start, but should add some much-needed versatility to that position group as the season goes along.
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Postseason stud Damien Williams, who had a claim to Super Bowl LIV MVP honors, opted out of the 2020 season. That left a void atop the Chiefs’ depth chart at running back, which Clyde Edwards-Helaire will fill.
Edwards-Helaire, a 21-year-old LSU graduate, is a 5-foot-7, 207-pound dynamo with exceptional receiving skills out of the backfield. Edwards-Helaire is hard to tackle and — with Tyreek Hill and company always a threat deep along with tight end Travis Kelce dominating at intermediate depths — could make Kansas City’s offense unstoppable.
However, he needs to be an ace in pass protection to keep Mahomes healthy and didn’t have the benefit of a true offseason or any preseason games. Edwards-Helaire’s on-the-job training includes games against Houston, the Chargers, Baltimore and New England in the first quarter of the season.
P Tommy Townsend
Don’t laugh — former Florida punter Tommy Townsend, the undrafted rookie free agent replaces the best punter in Chiefs history, Dustin Colquitt, who signed with Pittsburgh.
I get that a Patrick Mahomes-led offense doesn’t punt all that much, but neither did Dick Vermeil’s offense in the early 2000s — and there were some disastrous punting games that had Chiefs Kingdom apoplectic. Never forget Jason Baker, Steve Cheek and Nick Murphy.
