We are full go with our preparation for the upcoming Fantasy season, which means it’s time to write all the player outlooks for this year. I’m privileged to get the AFC West, and we’re going to do team-by-team previews as well. Here, you get to see all the interesting information I find about the Chiefs.
I’ll highlight players to target, as well as others to avoid. And you’ll get a good idea of what the Chiefs can hopefully do in 2026.
Let’s see if Kansas City is a Fantasy destination for you this year.
Team Breakdown
Coach: Andy Reid
Offensive coordinator: Eric Bieniemy (replaces Matt Nagy)
Key additions: RB Kenneth Walker III, RB Emari Demercado, QB Justin Fields
Draft picks of note: RB Emmett Johnson (Round 5 from Nebraska), WR Cyrus Allen (Round 5 from Cincinnati)
2026 strength of schedule: No. 5 (opponents combined 2025 record: 155-134)
2025 numbers of note
Points for: No. 21 at 362 (21.3 per game)
Passing yards: No. 16 at 3,639 (214.1 per game)
Passing attempts: No. 7 at 613
Rushing yards: No. 25 at 1,812 (106.6 per game)
Rushing attempts: No. 25 at 430
Players to target based on Average Draft Position (ADP)
1. Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes is coming off last year’s torn ACL and LCL in his knee, which he suffered in Week 15. He’s hopeful to be ready for Week 1, and his health is worth monitoring heading into the season. Mahomes is still considered a low-end No. 1 Fantasy quarterback, and he should be drafted with a mid-round pick in one-quarterback leagues. In Superflex and two-quarterback formats, Mahomes is worth drafting no later than Round 4. In 2025, prior to getting injured, Mahomes was having his best Fantasy season since 2022 at 23.6 points per game. Part of that was due to him setting a career-high for rushing yards (422) and rushing touchdowns (five) in just 14 games, but it’s hard to imagine him relying on his legs this season due to the injury. The Chiefs also invested heavily in their backfield with the additions of Walker, Demercado and Johnson, and Kansas City will try to take pressure off Mahomes with the ground game. That said, Travis Kelce is back in 2026, Rashee Rice is healthy, and the Chiefs have Eric Bieniemy back as the offensive coordinator (Mahomes averaged 28.4 Fantasy points per game when Bieniemy was the OC from 2018-22). Hopefully, Mahomes is healthy for Week 1, and he can once again be a standout Fantasy quarterback in all leagues. And it’s easy to draft Mahomes based on his FantasyPros ADP at No. 161 overall as QB14.
2. Kenneth Walker III
We saw the best of Walker in the NFL playoffs for Seattle when Zach Charbonnet (knee) was injured in the Divisional Round against San Francisco. Including that game, Walker scored at least 18.1 PPR points in all three postseason games for the Seahawks, and he averaged 24.9 PPR points over that span. To put that in perspective, Christian McCaffrey was the No. 1 non-quarterback in 2025 at 24.5 PPR points per game. While we don’t expect Walker to be that successful in 2026 with the Chiefs, the potential for a big season is definitely there. Kansas City struggled to run the ball in 2025 and was No. 25 in rushing yards. The Chiefs need Walker, especially with Mahomes coming off the knee injury, and we expect Walker to deliver. Now, he will likely share work with some combination of Brashard Smith, Johnson and Demercado, but Walker should dominate touches when healthy. He has dealt with injuries in his career and was limited to 11 games in 2024. He played a full season in 2025 and finished the regular season with 221 carries for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns, 31 catches for 282 yards on 36 targets, and he averaged 15.7 PPR points per game. In his career, Walker has 37 games with at least 13 carries, including the playoffs. Over that span, Walker has averaged 16.6 PPR points per game. If you give him work, he will succeed, and the Chiefs should feed him. I love his value in Round 3 based on his FantasyPros ADP at No. 28 overall as RB11.
3. Rashee Rice
Rice will hopefully play a full season in 2026, and he has the chance to be a top-five Fantasy receiver in all leagues. He’s worth drafting toward the end of Round 1 or beginning of Round 2 in all formats. Rice has played a combined 12 games in the past two seasons due to injury and suspension, but he’s been fantastic when on the field. He averaged 16.2 PPR points per game in four games in 2024 and 18.8 PPR points in eight games in 2025. Rice averaged 9.8 targets per game last season, and he should lead the Chiefs in targets this year. The receiving corps is thin with Rice, Xavier Worthy and Kelce as the top three options in the passing game, and Rice should continue to get plenty of attention from Mahomes. Now, Mahomes is coming back from a bad knee injury, so keep an eye on his health. And Kansas City will likely focus more on the ground game after adding Walker, Demercado and Johnson this offseason. But Rice’s production over the past two years and his role in the offense make him an exciting Fantasy option. If he stays healthy, then Rice could be among the best Fantasy receivers this season. I love the idea of getting Rice in Round 2 based on his FantasyPros ADP at No. 15 overall as WR9.
4. Xavier Worthy
Worthy went from a productive rookie in 2024 to a disappointing sophomore in 2025. How will he perform in 2026? Fantasy managers should consider Worthy a sleeper with a late-round pick in the majority of leagues. He’s a good receiver to stash on your bench, and hopefully, he can have a third-year breakout. The Chiefs don’t have a lot of proven talent in the passing game after Rice, Kelce and Worthy, which is why he has the chance to rebound from 2025. Last year, Worthy missed the first three games with a shoulder injury and then had to deal with Rice dominating targets once his six-game suspension ended. Kelce was there also, but Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster were getting targets as well. Those two are gone, and we’ll see what kind of impact Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Royals and rookie Cyrus Allen make this year. Worthy averaged 11 PPR points per game in 2024 before dropping to 7.9 PPR points in 2025. He will hopefully emerge as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver this season, and he should be a good value pick at his FantasyPros ADP at No. 123 overall as WR54.
5. Travis Kelce
Based on early ADP data — No. 125 overall as TE13 on FantasyPros — this is the first time Kelce might not get drafted as a top-five tight end since 2014. We’ll see if that stays the same in August, but Kelce is now a late-round option in the majority of leagues. You can see why, since he considered retirement this offseason and will turn 37 in October. But we consider Kelce a top-10 Fantasy tight end coming into the year. As long as Mahomes is ready to play in Week 1, that connection should still be strong, and Kelce was solid in 2025 in 14 games with Mahomes. During that span, Kelce averaged 12.8 PPR points, and the only tight ends who finished better than that were Trey McBride, George Kittle, Brock Bowers and Tucker Kraft. Now, things fell apart for Kelce in the final three games last season — he averaged just 4.8 PPR points over that stretch — so keep that in mind with Mahomes’ rehab. And we have to hope Kelce can coexist for a full season with Rice, as well as an improved run game with the addition of Walker. But given the cost, Kelce is worth the risk, and he didn’t postpone retirement to not be a key player in another potential Kansas City Super Bowl run. Kelce should still have a quality campaign in 2026.
Players to avoid based on Average Draft Position
None
2026 Prediction
The Chiefs missed the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since the 2014 campaign. They ended the season on a six-game losing streak, and Mahomes suffered his knee injury during that stretch in Week 15.
This year, with Mahomes healthy and Kelce postponing retirement, Kansas City should be back in the Super Bowl mix. I don’t expect the Chiefs to win the AFC West, but they should be a wild-card team and return as a contender.
Mahomes won’t be a top-five Fantasy quarterback, but he should be a borderline top-10 option. He’ll reward Fantasy managers who draft him with a late-round pick, and his best production will come toward the end of the year.
Rice will finish as a top-five Fantasy receiver, and Worthy will have the best season of his career. Kelce also will finish as a top-10 Fantasy tight end, and all three of these guys will dominate targets from Mahomes.
Walker will also reward the Chiefs for paying him, and he should finish as a top-10 Fantasy running back in all leagues. Kansas City’s offense will be great for Fantasy managers in 2026.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login