Kelce, Mahomes and Who Else?: The KC Chiefs Offense Midseason Report Card

While the 17-week regular season has thrown things off, we're at the approximate halfway point of the 2023 NFL campaign. Thus far, the Kansas City Chiefs have to be feeling pretty good about how things have gone. The defending Super Bowl champs are sitting at 7-2, and their defense has stepped up.

What's not to like? Well, in a bizarre twist, the club's offense seems to have taken a step backward. The numbers are still largely impressive, but things just feel out of step. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce can paper over plenty of cracks, but that dynamic duo needs someone else to step up.

Can someone fill that void? That question will, for better or worse, define the Chiefs' season. In the meantime, though, let's assess the offense at the season's (approximate) midway point and see where things stand.

Offensive Line: A

While losing Orlando Brown Jr. seemed like a risk, the Chiefs' offensive line hasn't missed a beat.

When you consider that the unit's primary responsibility is keeping Patrick Mahomes upright—remember, general manager Brett Veach retooled the unit after No. 15 had to run for his life during an ugly Super Bowl defeat—the line has done its collective job to a tee. KC has allowed a league-best 1.3 sacks per outing, and, according to an ESPN analytics post, boasts the best pass-blocking win rate in the league.

Things are a bit worse when it comes to run blocking (ESPN gave Kansas City the 20th-best win rate there), but that's something of a chicken-or-egg situation. Andy Reid doesn't rely too heavily on the ground game, but he did suggest that he should trust them a bit more in short-yardage situations. Perhaps the unit would perform better there if there were simply more opportunities.

On the whole, though, it's tough to take much issue with the O-line. The pass protection has spoken for itself this season.

Quarterback: A-

Thankfully for Chiefs fans, Patrick Mahomes has been the only quarterback to take meaningful snaps this season. And, for the most part, it's hard to quibble with his output.

Through nine games, the star signal-caller has thrown for 2,442 yards and 17 touchdowns. That's pacing for a bit below his high-water marks—remember, this is a man who's thrown for 5,000-plus yards and 50 touchdowns in a single campaign—but those numbers are still impressive.

Mahomes currently sits third in total passing yards and fourth in touchdown passes this season. That's impressive enough, and the totals look even better when you consider that opposing defenses want to force KC to dink and dunk down the field. That reality, combined with the lack of someone like Tyreek Hill, has forced No. 15 to adapt.

Could things be better? Of course; eight interceptions through nine games aren't an ideal stat line. In the big picture, though, those turnovers are a worthwhile trade-off for Mahomes' offensive production.

Tight Ends: B+

In terms of stealing the show, Travis Kelce gets an A+. On the field, though, the Chiefs' tight ends have collectively left a little bit to be desired.

Kelce has the unenviable task of both living up to his own high standards and being Kansas City's top receiving weapon. His stats this season are solid (57 catches for 597 yards and four touchdowns), but he's been more feast or famine than you'd like.

Is it completely fair to blame Kelce for those fluctuations? Probably not entirely. As mentioned above, he's the club's only genuine receiving threat, making it easy for defenses to double-team him without fear.

At the same time, it's not ideal for an all-world talent to be rendered largely ineffective. And given Kelce's own past, it's reasonable to expect him to make an impact, even when he's in the spotlight.

Elsewhere, Noah Gray is already within touching distance of the best season of his NFL career. That growth is important, especially as Kelce gets older, but it's not like he's a world-beater just yet.

For most other teams, having two tight ends account for more than 800 yards and five receiving touchdowns would be a great return at the midway point. Given Kelce's talent, though, that feels a bit underwhelming.

Running Backs: B

While the results here aren't great, they are actually better than you might think.

Isiah Pacheco, the club's lead back, doesn't get a great deal of work each week; this season his high-water mark is 20 carries in a single game. That understandably limits his effectiveness, but he's still eighth in the NFL with 525 rushing yards.

He's only found the end zone three times, but that speaks more to the club's play-calling than his lack of effectiveness. The Rutgers product also catches his share of passes, adding another string to the offense's bow.

After that, though, things tail off.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire's disappointing trajectory continues, and with 109 rushing yards across eight games, his time in KC is running out. Jerick McKinnon barely gets any work out of the backfield (12 carries in nine games), but he can make things happen as a pass-catching option (17 receptions for 147 yards and three touchdowns).

On the whole, the situation is acceptable, if not ideal. Reid's Chiefs are never going to be a run-first team, and Pacheco does a good job with his limited touches. Not having a genuine second option, however, is less than ideal. If Edwards-Helaire or McKinnon are on the field, there's almost no ground game to speak of.

Coaching: B

While it can be tough to assign blame between Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy (remember how Eric Bieniemy was viewed as something of a risky hire since he wasn't calling the plays?), it's safe to say that something isn't working as planned.

The Chiefs still profile well in some overall offensive stats (like overall yards per game and passing yards per game), but the ability to score has fallen off. That trend also continues in a mediocre red-zone percentage and struggles in short-yardage situations.

Is Bieniemy's absence a potential setback? Maybe. Has the coaching staff been dealt a challenging hand by the lack of a true pass-catching target behind Kelce? Sure, but both of those realities have been apparent since training camp, and things haven't changed.

Big Red can't go out on the field and run routes himself, but he and Nagy can adjust the offense and try to get things rolling, whether that means tweaking their play-calling or prioritizing someone like Rashee Rice's targets ahead of other receivers.

After the Chiefs' win over the Dolphins in Germany, though, Reid did make reference to trusting his offensive line more in short-yardage situations. That could be empty press-conference rhetoric, but it could also be an indication of how the head coach will evolve before the season's end.

Wide Receivers: C

While the rumors of the Chiefs' demise have been greatly exaggerated, there is a hole in the receivers' room. If you remove Kelce from the equation (and we've graded tight ends separately), there's really no one stepping up.

Rookie Rashee Rice leads the way with 32 receptions for 378 yards and four touchdowns, but that's a meager return through nine games. He's outside of the league-wide top 50 in both metrics, which is far from ideal for a team's leading receiver.

After that, the numbers only get worse. Kadarius Toney only has 20 catches, which puts him ahead of Skyy Moore (16), Justin Watson (14), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (14) and the re-acquired Mecole Hardman (six in three Chiefs games). None of those men have more than 276 yards, and the entire receiving corps only has seven touchdowns.

In fairness, Rice has shown potential through the first half of his rookie season, and it's reasonable to think he'll continue to improve. As things stand, though, the Chiefs' gamble that a young player could hold down the receivers' room hasn't exactly paid off.

KC Chiefs Offense Overall Grade: B+

To continue the school analogies, the current Chiefs offense is like seeing a student who previously posted straight As getting an 85. It's not the end of the world, but it's still outside of the norm.

At the midway point of the season, the eye test suggests that something is off. Kansas City has evolved before—things changed, for example, after Tyreek Hill left—but the current iteration of things feels stuck in second gear. Mahomes and Kelce are still all-world talents, but two men (and a strong offensive line) don't make up an entire offense.

The narrative about the lack of receivers throwing everything off does seem to be a genuine smoking gun. Without someone capable of attracting the defense's attention, Kelce is an easy target for a double-team. That's what happened in Germany, for example, when the Dolphins essentially eliminated No. 87 from the game.

That isn't to say hope is lost, though. Beyond the sheer talent on the roster, Reid and Nagy can adjust their play-calling to be a bit more direct. Rice's development could also be a wild card; if he and Mahomes can get in synch, defenses will have to pay a bit more attention to the rookie.

And, perhaps most importantly, the Chiefs' defense has stepped up this season and is collectively performing at an all-league level. If opposing offenses can't score, then Mahomes and company will have that much less work to do.

Ultimately, as a report card would say, the Chiefs have plenty of potential this season. Now, we'll just have to see if they can follow through.