The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense struggled significantly during the 2025 season, leading to a disappointing 6–11 record and their first missed postseason since 2014. To revive a dying offensive unit, the Chiefs made a few additions heading into 2026 and added the 2025 Super Bowl-winning RB Kenneth Walker III to their offensive unit. Despite that, ESPN’s Nate Taylor believes head coach Andy Reid has a lot of pressure on him due to the expectations around the team.

“I still think it’s the offense,” said Nate Taylor on 96.5 The Fan. “I think that was going to be the case regardless of what happened with the draft… Essentially, Andy Reid, with the understanding that Patrick Mahomes is going to be available for week one. If that is indeed the case, ‘Hey, they gave you Kenneth Walker.’ I don’t know, you should probably utilize him. You need to develop Xavier Worthy. We don’t know what’s going to happen with Rashee Rice, but he’s here for this year, so you better squeeze all the juice out of that guy.”

For the 2026 season, the Chiefs have brought in marquee RB Kenneth Walker III in a three-year, $43 million deal. Just last year, Walker became the first running back to win the Super Bowl MVP award since 1998. In the finals against the New England Patriots, he led the Seattle Seahawks with 135 rushing yards on 27 carries.

In addition to Walker, the Chiefs HC Andy Reid also has Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy as the starting wide receivers. However, that’s a concern for Taylor regarding the four-time Super Bowl champion team.

Both Rice and Worthy have shown glimpses of excellence. However, their overall impact has been inconsistent due to injuries and suspensions, among other things. In 28 games played for the Chiefs in the regular season, Rice has registered only 1,797 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

In the 2025 season, Rice was suspended for the first six games of the season for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy as he pleaded guilty to two felony charges. He returned to action in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders. But after playing eight games, Rice’s season ended early due to lingering concussion-like symptoms.

Meanwhile, Worthy has only 1170 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns in 31 total regular-season games. He served as the team’s primary deep threat in the 2025 season. However, his touchdown production was lower than expected. While Worthy recorded six touchdowns in the 2024 season, last year he had only one.

Overall, the Kansas City Chiefs averaged 320.6 yards and scored 38 touchdowns in 2025, which led Fox Sports to rank their offense 20th overall. This season was quite disappointing compared to 2022, 2023, and 2024 when the Chiefs reached the Super Bowl three times, winning two of those championships.

ESPN’s Nate Taylor highlighted a particular point during the Week 11 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos. He specifically questioned Coach Andy Reid’s decisions during a season marked by inconsistency.

“I just want to remind people that there were so many puzzling decisions that either Andy made from a game management situation or a player personnel formation… Why are you running this against a division opponent like the Denver Broncos? You ran RPOS’s in a way that nobody else in the league did, and yet those players weren’t as productive as they were in the past with Patrick,” he added.

The game in question took place on November 16, 2025, at the Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. The Chiefs heavily utilized Run-Pass Options (RPOs). However, the results were skewed toward passing as they struggled to establish a consistent traditional run game.

But the ESPN insider also talked about the positives of Reid’s team’s offensive line. LT Josh Simmons, RT Jaylon Moore, and C Creed Humphrey, among others, are expected to be the starters for the Chiefs. Taylor feels the offensive line looks settled in terms of individual capabilities.

However, HC Andy Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck may have to work on the players’ camaraderie to overcome the pressure on their offense sooner. As such, offensive line players like Simmons did not get an opportunity to strengthen their coordination with the Chiefs’ star QB Patrick Mahomes last season due to injuries. Hence, Taylor feels it is also important for Reid to build rapport between those players.

“So, they need to go back to a more diverse running game. They need to open up their play-action part of the playbook,” Taylor added. “They need to actually work with Patrick… And you’ve got to get Josh Simmons to get better from year one to year two. Jaylon Moore at right tackle, he is solidified now. Okay. Well, let’s see how good this offensive line can be. And you and Andy Heck got to coach these guys to really gel sooner rather than later. So, for all these reasons, the pressure is on Andy Reid.”

However, one cannot cite the Kansas City Chiefs’ poor offensive form to inconsistent performances alone. During a 16–13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in week 15, their star QB, Patrick Mahomes, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the final minute. This injury further led to a collapse in their late season.

As the Chiefs head into the 2026 season, expectations are high for Andy Reid’s team. Mahomes has expressed his desire to be ready to play from the start of the upcoming season, which is set to begin on September 9. Despite the inconsistent performance in 2025, the analyst noted one particular aspect of the Chiefs that stood out positively.

Inside Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive performance

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive team outperformed their offensive rankings. According to Fox Sports, they were ranked 10th overall, allowing an average of 301.5 yards and 33 touchdowns. Steve Spagnuolo has been the mastermind behind it, with defensive tackle Chris Jones leading the group.

ESPN’s Nate Taylor highlighted that the Chiefs delivered a commendable performance despite not having any elite pass rushers on the defensive line. He particularly praised the defensive coordinator for it.

“I think Steve Spagnuolo has done a actually he did a pretty good job with no pass rush whatsoever outside of Chris Jones last season,” said Taylor in the aforementioned conversation. “And it’s understandable for you to lose so many guys from that 2022 draft class that you have to fill those voids.”

During the 2026 NFL Draft, Spagnuolo’s defense was further bolstered. The likes of LSU CB Mansoor Delane, Clemson DT Peter Woods, and Oklahoma EDGE R Mason Thomas, among others, were some of the promising picks.

Many experts and analysts graded the Chiefs’ 2026 Draft class very highly. Among the many, CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco graded them ‘A+’ and talked about their defensive additions.

“The Chiefs just crushed the NFL Draft. In doing so, they earned the only A+ grade I am giving out. Let’s just say I loved their draft. With their first three picks, they landed the best cover corner in the draft in Mansoor Delane, a power defensive tackle in Peter Woods, a player I loved, and the captain of my “Better-Than Team” in Oklahoma edge R Mason Thomas. Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has to be one happy man,” said Prisco.

In the defensive aspect, the Chiefs look solid heading into the 2026 NFL season. But the concerns around the offense still loom. However, Nate Taylor suggested what needs to be done to overcome those concerns. Now, only time will tell how everything pans out for the four-time Super Bowl champions.