The latest
Ranking each division by quarterback heading into the 2025 NFL season | NFL.com
AFC WEST
Average QBI rank: 12.5
Denver Broncos: Bo Nix (No. 20)
Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes (No. 7)
Las Vegas Raiders: Geno Smith (No. 12)
Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert (No. 11)
Surprised? I was, at least a little bit. We knew Mahomes and Herbert would lift this division’s overall ranking to a certain level, but the true linchpin of the group is the new student in the class; not only did Smith’s acquisition by the Raiders give Las Vegas a legitimate starter, it also filled out the league’s strongest quarterbacking division entering 2025. I haven’t forgotten about Nix, who flirted with end-of-year awards consideration in 2024, even as a bit of a tumultuous late-season stretch reminded us of the challenges that face every rookie. Nix married quite well with coach Sean Payton, helped the Broncos return to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade and positioned Denver for a very optimistic 2025. If he keeps it up, he’ll climb the ranking and confirm the supremacy of a division otherwise populated by proven veterans.
Chiefs Open Nomination Process for 2025 Lamar Hunt Legacy Seat Honorees | The Mothership
Chiefs Season Ticket Members and individuals representing Chiefs Kingdom around the world are encouraged to nominate other Season Ticket Members, fans, and community leaders who represent the spirit of Lamar Hunt and uphold the team’s core values: Win with Character, Honor Tradition, Inspire our Fans, and Unite the Community.
The Lamar Hunt Legacy Seat was introduced in 2019 to help celebrate the franchise’s 60th season of professional football. At each home game, the club publicly recognizes an individual with this special honor in front of the entire stadium, highlighting their commitment to supporting the community. In addition, the honorees enjoy a VIP pregame experience.
“We are continually in awe of what Chiefs fans do to support our community, and it’s that giving spirit that reflects just one of the many qualities that made our founder, Lamar Hunt, so special,” Chiefs Vice President of Fan Experience Jayne Martin said. “We’ve been able to recognize so many extraordinary people over the years and we’re excited to open the nomination process for this unique honor and recognition during the 2025 football season.”
Young NFL players in line for bigger role in 2025: Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr., 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall stand out | CBS Sports
Hicks spent most of his time in 2024 working as the third safety behind Justin Reid and Bryan Cook. He played 31% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps overall but took over an increasingly larger role as the year went along, which should have prepared him to be the full-time starter.
He didn’t even play double-digit defensive snaps until Week 10, but he did so every week after that and eventually worked up his way to where he played more than half the snaps in each of the final four regular-season games and all three playoff contests. He’ll be an important cog for Steve Spagnuolo’s unit in 2025.
Drama, Delusional, Bold: One Word That Describes Every NFL Team’s Offseason | FOX Sports
Chiefs - Provoked
Following their humiliating Super Bowl LIX loss to the Eagles, the Chiefs are expected to have an edge in the new season. Not only did Travis Kelce commit to play in 2025, but Kansas City will also have Rashee Rice back from an injured knee that cost him all but four games in 2024.
Top five NFL draft values of the millennium at TE: Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski among all-time greats | NFL.com
1 -Travis Kelce
Kansas City Chiefs
Drafted: Round 3 (No. 63 overall), 2013.
As a surefire Hall of Famer in the running for best tight end ever, Kelce must be considered one of the best draft bargains of all time — even with brother Jason Kelce (2011 sixth-round pick) giving him a good run for his money. Travis Kelce, the first pick in Round 3 in 2013, missed all but one snap of his rookie season before eventually stringing together seven straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2016 to 2022. He has been named to the past 10 Pro Bowls.
Kelce and Patrick Mahomes have arguably become one of the greatest offensive duos ever, both elevating their games in the postseason in leading the Chiefs to three Super Bowl championships in five appearances over the past six seasons. Kelce’s 69.4 receiving yards per regular-season game ranks 27th all-time, but he’s averaged 83.1 in 25 postseason games. His 178 playoff catches are by far the most ever (27 more than Jerry Rice), and Kelce trails Rice by just two playoff TD catches, 22 to 20.
Ranking all 32 NFL teams from most to least entertaining | USA Today
5. Kansas City Chiefs
With the explosive plays running dry and “Chiefs fatigue” setting in for some, there’s only so high that the defining franchise of the last decade can rank on this list. But Kansas City is still appointment viewing for many, and that’s not merely a matter of branding. Regardless of how often he is able to pull off the otherworldly plays he became synonymous with, Patrick Mahomes remains on a singular plane in the NFL when it comes to tilting games in his favor. Travis Kelce, meanwhile, shouldn’t be expected to merely fade away in the twilight of his career despite last year’s relatively modest statistical output. More importantly, the return of Rashee Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown unquestionably will alter the complexion of the offense for the better, even if protection questions remain after a reshuffling of the left side of the offensive line.
2025 NFL rookie updates: Tracking all 32 first-round picks | ESPN
32. Chiefs:Josh Simmons, OT
Simmons has been working as the starting left tackle during offseason practices. Even though these are noncontact sessions, it still represents progress. Simmons is coming off a torn patellar injury, and his timetable for a return to play was uncertain when the Chiefs drafted him. Now, minus a setback, it appears he’s on schedule to be their starter when the season begins. “We weren’t quite sure how much we were going to be able to get out of him, but he looks strong,’’ coach Andy Reid said. “You can tell that he rehabbed. He did a nice job with it.’’ A stronger test for Simmons will come during training camp, when he and his teammates will put on the pads for the first time and the physical part of the game will come into play. — Adam Teicher
Around the NFL
Steelers LB Patrick Queen striving to get back to ‘old self’ after disappointing first season in Pittsburgh | NFL.com
Sure, he still made the Pro Bowl as an alternate and finished with 129 tackles, but Queen felt he underachieved in 2024.
“For me, personally, I think I could have expectations and surpass them, and I’d still be upset that I didn’t do more,” Queen recently said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I’m always going to be searching and looking for more that I can do, trying to be the best player I can be for my team and for myself. I didn’t do that last year. That’s what really aggravated me this whole offseason.”
It’s common for a defender to find uncertain footing in their his year in a new system. Sometimes, it’ll prompt stars to vent their frustrations before settling in and reaping the rewards. Former Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox once famously ripped Jonathan Gannon’s approach in their first season together, then eventually played a key part in a defense that helped Philadelphia reach the Super Bowl in the following campaign.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs News: Latest Bills, Broncos predictions properly labeled ‘bold’
1. The Bills will win theSuper Bowl.
This is bold simply because the Bills have dealt with so much heartache over the last five seasons. They’ve lost four playoff games to the Chiefs (including two AFC title bouts) and suffered another home defeat to the Bengals in the 2022 Divisional Round. This team has too much talent and smart coaching to continually miss out on opportunities to get over the hump, which is why this prediction makes so much sense today. Quarterback Josh Allen is coming off his first MVP season. The defense added some nice pieces in the 2025 NFL Draft, including speedy cornerback Maxwell Hairston and edge rusher Landon Jackson. The schedule also looks favorable, with Buffalo playing 10 games against teams that didn’t produce a winning record in 2024. There’s basically never been a better time for the Bills to earn the top seed in the AFC and potentially host a conference championship game. And if they can do that, they should win the whole damn thing.
My take
In both of these prognostications involving the Chiefs, Chadiha is depending on the usual flawed logic: “It could have happened before, but it didn’t. So it must be happening now.” This is the same reasoning that roulette players use when they bet on 17 because the marble hasn’t fallen in 17 all evening. It doesn’t work any better for them than it’s likely to work for Chadiha.
That’s not to say that the Bills can’t win the next Super Bowl — or that the Broncos can’t win this season’s AFC West title. Both of those things are indeed possible. But they’re not more likely because Buffalo has lost four playoff games to Kansas City — or because Denver lost 2024’s Week 10 game to the Chiefs on a blocked field goal.
We know this because that’s how probability works. Every random event is entirely independent of every other random event. Just because a coin toss has come up heads 10 times in a row doesn’t mean it is more likely to come up heads on the next flip. The probability it will happen is exactly the same: 50%.
And besides... these aren’t random events. These are games between professional football teams. Sometimes we see that one team can get another team’s number — and sometimes, it’s only in the playoffs. Between 2013 and 2018, Kansas City went 2-1 against the New England Patriots. But you probably remember that in that same period, the Chiefs went 0-2 against the Patriots in the postseason.
Social media to make you think
Tight End University — founded by George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and Greg Olsen — is back for its fifth year this week.
Here’s the full list of tight ends attending the event: pic.twitter.com/cF76wDLyRr
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 23, 2025
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