Coming off a thumping at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are out to prove their demise has been greatly exaggerated.
Entering the offseason and the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chiefs were out to re-tool in key areas to keep hold of their reign in the AFC. Did they accomplish that goal?
While the jury is still out, the Chiefs have made some key changes to their roster in free agency and added draft prospects who could help in key areas.
Kansas City Chiefs address top needs:
One of those key areas was the offensive line. After trading Joe Thuney, the Chiefs were in greater need of a top-level talent to anchor the left side, and they addressed that immediately in the draft with the selection of Josh Simmons with the No. 31 overall pick. The Chiefs then used their next two picks to address the defensive front seven and the rest of the draft to add depth at receiver and in the secondary. Which rookies are set up to make an immediate impact Year 1?
Here are 3 rookies to watch for the Kansas City Chiefs:
Round 1, Pick No. 31 – Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State: The rest of the NFL once again allowed a good very good player get to the Kansas City Chiefs late in the first round. A team in need of a left tackle, the selection of Ohio State product Josh Simmons fits that need as long as he stays healthy. If it wasn’t for a season-ending torn patella that ended his final season with the Buckeyes prematurely, Simmons would’ve have been drafted higher in the first round. The defending AFC champions will benefit from his slide at some point in the season.
After traded Joe Thuney to start the offseason, the Chiefs signed Jaylon Moore in free agency in hopes of stabilizing the offensive line in front of Mahomes. The addition of Moore does allow Simmons time to fully heal and adjust to the NFL before he snags that starting left tackle spot from Moore. A big, powerful, athletic offensive lineman, Simmons will eventually anchor the left side of the line and give Mahomes that blind side protection he has lacked the last couple of seasons.
Round 3, Pick No. 66 – Ashton Gillotte, DE, Louisville: The Chiefs selected Omar Norman-Lott in the second round of the draft, but it is third-round pick Ashton Gillotte who NFL Mocks predicts to make the bigger impact in Year 1.
In adding more depth at the pass rusher position, Gillotte is a young player who can feed off the energy of George Karlaftis who led the Chiefs in sacks with eight in 2024. Although he had just 4.5 sacks in his last season with Louisville, Gillotte had 11 sacks in 2023 which had him as a projected first round pick entering the 2024 season. Look for Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to tap into Gillotte’s pass rush potential leading the third-round pick to have a bigger role coming off the edge by midseason.
Round 4, Pick No. 133– Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State: The Chiefs needed another playmaking weapon in the draft, and they got a good one in Jalen Royals. With an aging Travis Kelce still a primary target of Mahomes, the Chiefs need more reliable weapons for Mahomes to get the ball down the field to. They do have Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown as explosive targets for the All-Pro quarterback, in Royals they get a bigger target with speed who has already impressed in OTAs and minicamp.
While Royals will still have an uphill battle to earn snaps away from that trio, he could earn time as a slot receiver especially if he continues to form chemistry with Mahomes. With his ability to adjust and snag off-target throws, Royals could quickly morph into a playmaker the Chiefs quickly fall in love with (if they haven’t already).