1. Kansas City Chiefs (2)
As was stated previously, it’s hard not to put the Patriots here. And yes, the road to the championship still goes through them considering they’re the best dynasty ever. However, there’s one team that was dangerously close to knocking them off a season ago, and they got even better in the offseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs were the most impressive offense a season ago and quarterback Patrick Mahomes won the NFL MVP after throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns. They took the Pats to overtime, but their defense let them down as they gave up a touchdown and the MVP never got to touch the ball.
Frustrated by the subpar play of their defense, the Chiefs went out and added Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill at safety. They also picked up defensive ends Emmanuel Ogbah and Frank Clark via trade. After all that, they made a move for linebacker Darron Lee, which completely transformed their entire defense.
This is all while returning the majority of the stars on offense and adding Mecole Hardman in the second round —‚ who protects them should there be a suspension handed down to Tyreek Hill by the league for being involved in a child abuse investigation.
There are very few weaknesses on this team and they worked hard to improve upon a roster that was possibly one defensive stop away from making it to the Super Bowl. That’s why they land at No. 1 in these rankings.