Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes isn’t just the most valuable player in Kansas City; he’s a two-time NFL MVP and perennial automatic MVP contender. With Mahomes clearly slotted as the first choice, which other Chiefs players will have the best argument for being “most valuable” to the team’s success in 2024?
Let’s start by giving Mahomes his slam-dunk spotlight. Eric Edholm of NFL Media made his picks for all 32 team MVPs for the 2024 NFL season and he unsurprisingly made his case for Mahomes while noting that at least one other Chief may be able to build some sort of argument.
“I’m sure someone could present a respectable argument about TE Travis Kelce being worthy of this honor, given that he’s typically been the one week-in-and-week-out option on whom Mahomes can rely, but that argument won’t be coming from me,” Edholm wrote. “As with my selection of Lamar Jackson and a few other clear-cut picks on this list, there’s just no sense in trying to outthink myself. Mahomes, for my money, remains the best QB in the game, even if others had better numbers in 2023. Tell me I’m wrong.”
He’s not wrong. With that said, Edholm’s first choice is easier than the second. Who would be next in a non-quarterback MVP ranking for the Chiefs’ 2024 campaign?
From my view, the Chiefs have one clear non-QB MVP-esque candidate from each side of the ball and two dark-horse candidates. Kelce, who has been one of the league’s most reliable and consistent pass-catchers since he entered the league, is a clear nominee. Even after narrowly missing his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season last year (finishing with 984 yards in 15 games), he’s still Mahomes’s top target, forming perhaps the league’s best passer-catcher duo.
Defensive lineman Chris Jones is the easy nominee from the defensive side as the clear-cut keystone of KC’s defensive line and the subject of constant focus from opposing offenses. If Jones can continue to demand attention and produce at a steady rate in his age-30 season, he’ll be the Chiefs’ defensive MVP for at least the third (if not fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh) consecutive season.
With cornerback L’Jarius Sneed now in Tennessee, fellow corner Trent McDuffie is my other defensive pick for a potential MVP-like impact. He’s earned plenty of praise from media this offseason and he could be in line for a breakout year from a national reputation perspective as one of the league’s most versatile and effective defensive weapons.
The other offensive outside candidate: wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. I’m finding myself becoming more and more bullish on Brown’s 2024 campaign. With a potential Rashee Rice suspension still looming and a steep learning curve for rookie Xavier Worthy, Brown and Kelce seem poised to be KC’s clear-cut top two weapons for the first act of the season. A breakout year in a contract year is on the table for Brown in ’24.
There’s no doubt that Mahomes is alone at the top in MVP discussions, but Kelce, Jones, McDuffie and Brown will need to have massively valuable performances for the Chiefs to complete the NFL’s first ever three-peat.
