The Kansas City Chiefs have morphed into a modern version of the New England Patriots.
Like in the Patriots’ generation, one of the big Chiefs storylines heading into the season concerns potential rivals. Who can match the strength of Kansas City?
One NFL analyst named one such team that is “built” to dismantle Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce’s unit.
During a recent appearance on the Up & Adams Show, James Palmer of NFL Network named the Houston Texans as the potential answer to Mahomes.
“They’re built to do it,” Palmer said. “I think they’re built to do it because of where they’re at at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. … I think down the middle of the field and through the lines of scrimmage, they’re just really, really good.”
The Texans, of course, had perhaps the largest bevy of moves by an NFL team this offseason.
After already winning a playoff game with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, the team added several stars, acquiring wide receiver Stefon Diggs, pass rusher Danielle Hunter and running back Joe Mixon.
Kansas City Chiefs’ potential biggest AFC rival has one big unanswered question
Diggs, for all the flak he has received in the last several years, is still a perennial 1000-yard receiver. Hunter, meanwhile, was one of the most coveted free agents this past March.
Last year, Hunter earned a whopping 16.5 sacks. If he can duplicate that again this season, the team will have added an Aaron Donald-esque figure to the front seven overnight.
Last but not least, the team added Mixon. Mixon boasts plenty of playoff experience in time spent with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati the last few years. The running back is coming off the fourth 1000-yard season of his career and could face perhaps the most stretched defenses of his career with the Texans.
The star-studded transaction list doesn’t take into account the already impressive list of stars on the team. Tank Dell, heading into his second season, is in line to take a step forward. Nico Collins is already a stud, and Robert Woods also has a shot to produce quality numbers in 2024.
The only potential problem is with Stroud. Defenses have had an entire offseason to study the quarterback. As such, potential weaknesses might have been presented that were not noticed last year. It will be up to Stroud to pivot to his second-tier skills. Some players hardly skip a beat when changing strategies. However, others crumble, especially after breakout rookie seasons.
Will C.J. Stroud be dominant enough to upset Mahomes’ run at a third Super Bowl?
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