NFL Analysis Network

5 Early Bold Predictions For The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2022 Season

The Kansas City Chiefs are always a team with all eyes on them during the offseason. Considering they have been in the past four AFC Championships, they are a team that people look to and see how they stack up in comparison. This year, the Chiefs made big waves as Tyreek Hill and Tyrann Mathieu moved on.

The team got a lot younger, which is good for the future, but has some questioning about what will happen in 2022. Here are some early bold predictions for the team..

5. Skyy Moore Will Lead The Team In Catches As A Rookie

Losing Tyreek Hill means that the team is losing 150 targets. Even if they wanted to give them all to Travis Kelce, he gets enough anyways, and they need to be less reliant on one or two players. That is why they turned Hill into JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and Skyy Moore. They now have three wideouts much cheaper than Hill.

Still, they all bring their own questions. MVS has too many drops, while Smith-Schuster cannot stay healthy. Moore is a rookie from Western Michigan. Still, he is fast, a dynamic route runner, and has big hands to haul in passes.

Moore could be the quick passing target who takes the screens and dump-offs that Hill ran with after the catch. Expect the Chiefs to use MVS to replicate the speed of Hill down the field, but Moore to catch more passes in the short area. MVS may have the yards, but Moore will have the catches.

4. George Karlaftis Will Lead The Team In Sacks As A Rookie

The big thing the Chiefs also did was re-stocked their defense. Justin Reid got them a younger, but still experienced at safety. Still, rookies Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis were the big first-round picks.

Chris Jones is going to be a force on the line, but the Chiefs will use the added depth to move him around. Jones has a role that frees up others, and that means Karlaftis in one-on-ones. Karlaftis is the freak to dominate double teams, but he is experienced enough to hit the ground running and win in advantageous matchups.

Expect him to capitalize on the role and get a lot of sacks early in his career.

3. Chiefs Do Not Make The AFC Championship

For the first time in five years, the Chiefs will not make the AFC Championship. The team got a lot younger, and added depth on both sides of the ball. That will allow them to be good every year without a rebuilding year and a drop-off.

Still, it means that a drop off in the form of a Divisional Round exit could still be in store.

2. Chiefs Will Still Make The Playoffs

While the Chiefs may not be at their best state with Patrick Mahomes, they still have Mahomes and Andy Reid. Too many people are calling their reshuffling their demise. The team is going to make the playoffs so long as the coach and quarterback are the same.

1. Travis Kelce Will Not Top 1,000 Yards Receiving

The list of 33-year-old tight ends to hit 1,000 yards receiving is zero. Despite hitting that mark every year since 2016, Kelce will be 33 in 2022. That does not mean he will fall off a cliff, but he may start to see the decline coming.

Beyond his age is the idea that the Chiefs are going to spread the ball around. It comes off as unlikely that Kelce will still be the same dominant threat in the newer version of the offense. Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez still had 800 yards at age 33, the two best marks to date.

Kelce could beat those, but he will not hit 1,000 for the sixth straight year.

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