Kansas City Chiefs fans will not like Micah Parsons‘ prediction regarding the trajectory of their 2026 NFL season. Parsons believes the Denver Broncos will win the AFC West again, with the Los Angeles Chargers taking the second spot.
Parsons sees the Chiefs finishing third in the division.
In a recent segment of Bleacher Report’s The Edge podcast, star pass rusher Micah Parsons shared his honest take on which teams will win their divisions, including the AFC West. Parsons believes the Broncos and the Chargers will take the top two spots, while Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will finish third.
Parsons noted that the Chiefs lost several top players like Trent McDuffie and did not make quality additions around Mahomes.
You just don’t let that type of players [go]… It’s just hard for me to say that they are ready to win. When I look at the receivers, I don’t really see them threatening anyone. You got an older [Travis] Kelce, but you can’t bank on him to win and we don’t know [Patrick] Mahomes is the Mahomes out there—does he miss a couple of games. We don’t know.
Micah Parsons said
The Chiefs’ season could go either way. They could return to their very best or capitulate midway through the year. Then again, they will fight for every inch because it’s Travis Kelce‘s final year in the game, and he wants to win that fourth ring.
As for the receivers, the Chiefs have Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, who are entering their fourth and third year respectively. Brett Veach and Andy Reid further added young wideout Cyrus Allen, who, according to Steve Smith Sr., could be the Chiefs’ future WR1.
In the offseason, the Chiefs signed reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker. Walker is their de facto starter at running back. They also drafted exciting speedster Emmett Johnson, signed veteran Emari Demercado, and gave a UDFA deal to EJ Smith, the son of Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith.
In 2025, the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time since Mahomes became the starting quarterback. On top of it, the former league MVP suffered a season-ending ACL injury, and although he’s ready to get back in the game, there’s no guarantee how his body will react to the pace of the NFL.
Mahomes did not feature in the Chiefs’ preseason defeat against the Los Angeles Rams. He might see limited game time in one of the remaining two games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks. Reid doesn’t plan to risk losing his star player before the season kicks off.
Meanwhile, former Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins asserted that Mahomes will have a great year.
I think we’ll see a version of Patrick Mahomes that we haven’t seen probably in the last 3-4 years.
Hawkins said on a recent segment of ESPN’s First Take
Mahomes is the favorite to win the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award. The 30-year-old has a 39% chance, followed by Vikings signal-caller Kyler Murray with 18%.
The Chiefs-Rams game at Arrowhead Stadium ended in a 20-12 victory for last season’s NFC Championship finalists. KC gave debuts to both Justin Fields and rookie Garrett Nussmeier in the game, along with WR Cyrus Allen, running back Emmett Johnson, EJ Smith and a smattering of others.
Despite pulling off some catchy highlight moments, there was one gaping issue that kept popping up, which coach Reid is insistent on rectifying before the season kicks off.
Penalties. That would be the No. 1 thing to be cleaned up.
Andy Reid told the media
The Chiefs hit the road for Sunday’s clash against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Mahomes’ availability remains unclear, but the Bucs have confirmed that Baker Mayfield will play a few snaps in the fixture.