Quick, name the five best teams in the NFL heading into the 2015 season...
Which teams came to mind? For me, in no particular order, I thought about the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots (with Tom Brady), Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts. You know who I didn't think about? The Kansas City Chiefs. Did you?
Peter King of Monday Morning Quarterback has released his NFL Power Rankings for the 2015 season. Apart from No. 1, which is also a bit of a surprise, the Chiefs were listed at No. 4 overall.
"Two things must happen: making Justin Houston contractually happy and finding some answers in the passing game. I like most everything else about the Chiefs' ability to play in January," King wrote.
Kansas City went 9-7 last year, finishing second in the AFC West. Could KC breakout and be a top five team in head coach Andy Reid's third season? That depends.
As King noted, linebacker Justin Houston wants a new deal. Right now, he's playing under the franchise tag which will pay him just north of $13 million this season. But after leading the NFL in sacks last year with 22, it's fair for him to be seeking a long-term extension. The Chiefs have until July 15 to hammer one out with him.
On offense, you all know that Kansas City's wide receivers failed to catch a single touchdown pass last year. While the passing game should be helped by the arrival of Jeremy Maclin, I'm not so sure he's going to be as big of a difference maker as fans are hoping for. Maclin failed to top 1,000 yards in any of his seasons under Reid in Philadelphia. Given quarterback Alex Smith's struggles pushing the ball downfield, do we really expect Maclin to repeat his career numbers from 2014? I don't think so. He'll definitely help, but not to the degree he did with the Eagles last year.
Contending for a playoff berth is a very achievable goal for the Chiefs this year. They barely missed out on the post-season in 2014 and could easily knock the Cincinnati Bengals out of the wild card spot this time around. But are they really ready to be one of the very best teams in all of football?
