A total of five Kansas City Chiefs were named to CBS Sports’ Top-100 players list for 2023.
CBS Sports analyst Pete Prisco hits on all the usual suspects for Kansas City, including ranking three players among the NFL’s Top 15. Of course, the reigning league MVP and Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes, comes in at the No. 1 spot. The Chiefs tied for the most players selected to the list along with the Bengals, Dolphins and 49ers.
Perhaps surprisingly, only one defender from Kansas City made the Top 100, despite the defense making an outsized impact on the team’s ability to make it to and win Super Bowl LVII. Is this defense underrated heading into 2023?
Here’s a quick look at all of the players named to the list, Prisco’s reasoning and some of my own thoughts:
1. QB Patrick Mahomes
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is back as the best player in my ranking of the NFL’s top 100, and if he keeps up at his current pace he will be in the conversation for No. 1 all time.
Mahomes led his Chiefs to his second Super Bowl title last February, beating the Philadelphia Eagles and winning both the regular-season and Super Bowl MVPs in the process. The man is on a roll. In the past four seasons, he has two Super Bowl victories and one loss in the Super Bowl. He also has two regular-season MVPs in the past five seasons.
Pete Prisco and Joe Burrow agree on something — Patrick Mahomes is the best QB in the world right now.
Prisco seems to believe that Mahomes is coming for Tom Brady’s mantle. He’s certainly the only player with the current accolades to even have a chance of reaching Brady’s level of dominance. Right now, Mahomes is on pace to have 4 Super Bowl rings and six Super Bowl appearances in his first 10 seasons as a starter.
6. TE Travis Kelce
He caught 110 passes with 12 touchdown catches to solidify his position as the top tight end and one of the best weapons in the league. Can he be covered with one man? No way.
Kelce has shown no signs of slowing down on the field, notching his seventh consecutive season of 1,000 or more receiving yards in 2022. Father time might eventually catch up with Kelce, but he says he’s going to keep going until the wheels fall off.
13. DL Chris Jones
He led all interior linemen in sacks with 15.5, with his dominant play keying the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning defense. He is a true game-wrecker.
If the Chiefs somehow didn’t have enough evidence that they needed to get Chris Jones under contract long-term, this should suffice. He’s been a game-wrecker for a long time, but he’s also been the centerpiece of their defense.
40. C Creed Humphrey
He is among the best centers in the game, a key part of the Chiefs offense. Entering his third season, he has been a starter every year since coming into the league in 2021 and is equally good in the run game and pass protection.
As we’ve been touting lately, “Creed is Good” has graduated to “Creed is Great.” He’s not just among the best centers in the game — he should be regarded as the best center in the game. That’s the case in this particular list even if Pete Prisco doesn’t expressly say so.
80. LG Joe Thuney
He is consistently one of the best guards in the league. Since coming over as a free agent from the Patriots, he has been a big part of their success up front.
Even during a season where Thuney was a bit banged up, he still managed recognition as one of the top guards in the NFL. It’s important to note as the 30-year-old enters the point in his contract where the Chiefs can get out of it if they so choose.
Honorable mention: CB L'Jarius Sneed
An argument could be made that more Chiefs defenders should be on this list and it starts with L’Jarius Sneed, who landed on CBS Sports’ honorable mentions list. He is one of the more versatile cornerbacks in the NFL.
Nick Bolton is also among the players snubbed from this list as well, but few off-ball linebackers seem to have made it in general.
