Kansas City Chiefs

Quarterback of the Future

The Kansas City Chiefs ended last season in a terrible playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans where they were up by 18 points at the half of the Wild Card Playoffs and ended up losing 22-21. This came after a 10-6 season in which they won their first five games in a row.

This year, any Kansas City Chiefs betting will have to rely on the fortunes of young quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who takes over the quarterback position from Alex Smith, who was traded to the Washington Redskins in the offseason.

Mahomes is a first round draft pick from 2017 who the Chief took at #10 overall. He started one game in Week 17 last year, a 27–24 win against the Denver Broncos where he completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards with an interception.

That start was apparently enough to ensure the Chiefs upper brass that Mahomes was ready to take on the starting role. Backing him up is Chad Henne followed by Matt Gloin, both of whom were signed in the offseason. Also vying for a roster spot is undrafted free agent Chad Litton, who was the starting quarterback for Marshall last season.

According to our NFL sportsbook, the Chiefs are in very tight competition in their division, with the Raiders and the Broncos boasting the same betting odds as the Chiefs to win the AFC West.

Building a Wall on Defense

The Cheifs were also busy in the offseason trying to bolster their defense, as five of their six draft picks at the 2018 draft were defensive players. The first of those picks was defensive end Breeland Sparks in Round 2 at number 46 overall.

They also tested the free agent market, acquiring cornerback Kendall Fuller and linebacker Anthony Hitchens. Fuller was part of the Alex Smith trade. In 16 games last season, he had 55 combined tackles, 43 solo. Hitchens is a fifth year pro who comes from the Dallas Cowboys, where he compiled 304 combined tackles over four years.

These additions address weaknesses that were exposed in the playoff loss to the Titans. In winning that game, the Titans scored 19 points off mostly rushing the ball. The Cheifs also are hoping the additions on defense will help improve their overall sack numbers. For the last two years the Chiefs have ranked in the bottom of the league in that category.

New Coordinator on Offense

Eric Bieniemy takes over as Offensive Coordinator for Matt Nagy, who left Kansas City to take the Head Coaching position in Chicago. Bieniemy has been the Cheifs running back coach since 2013, so he knows the personnel on this offence very well.

Much will be made of how he works with Mahomes and if he is able to create an environment in which the young quarterback can succeed, as well as finding the best way to utilize second year phenom Kareem Hunt, who lead the NFL in rushing with 1, 327 yards and was selected to the All Rookie team.

Those two players are very powerful tools in his arsenal, so he will have a lot to work with as he gets accustomed to the new job.

While the Chiefs aren't necessarily banking on winning it all this year, they do have the pieces in place to make some advancement and improve on what was a successful season last year.

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