Was there a more exciting team in the NFL last season than the Kansas City Chiefs?! In my eyes, certainly not, however, part of the reason they were so exciting was that their defence was so terrible that they had to score a lot of points if they were going to stand any chance of winning. The issue for the upcoming season is whether the off-season additions have actually improved the defence, or if it has taken a step backwards. Are Frank Clark, Alex Okafor and Tyrann Mathieu better than Dee Ford, Justin Houston and Eric Berry? I’d say not. The offense remains the same, with the only loss being Kareem Hunt, which I think might be a bigger problem than the Chiefs anticipated as the season wears on.
At quarterback Patrick Mahomes was simply sensational, and thoroughly deserved to win the MVP of the league. In terms of touchdown value, Mahomes surprisingly only rushed for 2 scores on the season, which given his athletic prowess seems quite low, so for the moment I would need to see some big numbers against his name before I pull the trigger.
With Hunt now plying his trade in Cleveland it would appear that Damien Williams will be the workhorse back, with Carlos Hyde as the backup. Williams has only scored 15 times in his career, but given that he has always been a backup it’s hard to judge his real value in this high powered offence. Hyde has scored touchdowns at a fairly consistent pace throughout his career, so if he gets a handle on the goal-line work he may offer significant value.
Tyreek Hill has been a sensation in terms of anytime touchdown scorer profits. I have selected the speedster on 4 occasions, on 3 of which he has duly found the end-zone for profit over £700, but having scored 25 times in 47 games his value is slowly dwindling. Sammy Watkins was a disappointment in his first season with the Chiefs, but you have to think if he can stay healthy he may be able to recapture the numbers he had early in his career with the Bills. With Chris Conley now in Jacksonville, Demarcus Robinson could fill the void, and add to the 4 scores he had in 2019. Mecole Hardman was drafted in case Hill was suspended, but seeing as that won’t be the case it will be interesting to see what role he has on the offence.
Travis Kelce is the beginning, middle and end at tight-end, having racked up over 5,000 yards in 5 seasons, and his touchdown rate continues to grow each season, although he may find it difficult to replicate his 10 scores from a year ago, so I may have to tread carefully once the season gets underway.
Touchdown Profit 