Chiefs Bye Week Stock Report: Who’s Trending up and Down?

KC has mostly been what people expected, but some areas have helped or hurt their stock.

Every season has ups and downs, but the goal is to improve gradually and be at your best in the end. Through seven weeks of the 2022 campaign, the Kansas City Chiefs are playing good ball and have shown why they are one of the best teams in the league.

Most aspects of the team are right about where people expected, but some have raised their stock while others have met expectations and left fans wanting more. Let's check in with a stock report during Kansas City's Week 8 bye.

Stock Up: Rookie Cornerbacks

Coming into the year, it was well known that the Chiefs' rookie cornerbacks would have to play, but not to the degree they have so far. The starters were projected to be veterans Rashad Fenton and L'Jarius Sneed working with first-round pick Trent McDuffie. That plan has been forced to change, starting with McDuffie leaving Kansas City's Week 1 outing with a hamstring injury and not returning since. In Week 5, Fenton suffered a hamstring injury of his own and didn't play in the two games before the bye. This made fourth-rounder Joshua Williams and seventh-rounder Jaylen Watson start way earlier than expected. Nevertheless, they have held their own.

Watson was the first man up after the McDuffie injury and got his first start on a short week against the Chargers. That's a challenging task for any rookie, let alone a seventh-round draft choice. But not only did he play solid, but he made a game-changing play with a 99-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. Many expected him to have a letdown after that high, but Watson's play has stayed steady. He's been a reliable corner while others are rehabbing.

On the other hand, it took Williams longer to get on the field. The fourth-rounder only played 17 defensive snaps through five weeks, with most coming in garbage time against Arizona. He became a starter in Week 6 with McDuffie and Fenton out. He had a couple of tough plays that week but outside of that, he played fine. This last week, he didn't let his confidence be shaken and had a great game, including a massive interception in the red zone.

Joshua Williams played really well on Sunday. Had a PBU and an interception in the red zone. Was close on a few other plays. He has the length and athleticism, just needs to put it together on a play-to-play basis. pic.twitter.com/BilogsZds1

— Zack Eisen (@zackeisen21) October 26, 2022

Stock Down: Offensive Line

It's not often that something is a consensus around the NFL, but heading into 2022, the thought that the Chiefs had a top-five offensive line was one. After last year's rebuild of the line was a success, the hope was for the group to keep gelling and improving. Unfortunately, that has yet to be the case this year. The sacks allowed number is OK (12, the sixth-fewest in the NFL) but in the first seven games, that doesn't tell the whole story. The Chiefs have given up 85 pressures within 2.5 seconds of the snap, which is the fourth most. They haven't lived up to expectations and have drastically underperformed for a unit that was supposed to be dominant this season.

The decline truly begins with the play of offensive tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie. Brown and Wylie may be the worst starting tackle duo in football. They certainly are in consideration when looking at the number of pressures allowed. Brown (24) and Wylie (20) have given up a combined 44 pressures through the first seven weeks, tied for last with Miami's duo. The reason this isn't only about the tackles is that the run blocking as a whole has declined. Near the end of last year, the Chiefs efficiently ran the ball and were gashing teams on the ground. This year, the run blocking has been very hit-or-miss, causing the offense to be 15th in yards per carry compared to last year when they were eighth.

Pressure rate allowed by the highest-paid (APY) LTs:

T. Williams - 4.65%
D. Bakhtiari - 3.33%
L. Tunsil - 2.11%
J. Matthews - 4.49%
K. Miller - 5.48%
C. Robinson - 4.70%
D.J. Humphries - 3.32%
G. Bolles - 4.83%
J. Mailata - 5.52%
D. Smith - 4.76%

Orlando Brown Jr. - 7.91%

— Zack Eisen (@zackeisen21) October 20, 2022

Stock Up: Chiefs' Long-Term Future

The offseason's approach was for the Chiefs to be a contender but not have all their chips on the table this season. However, the early returns are positive as the team is 5-2 heading into the bye week and still has plenty of future assets to work with. Kansas City is projected to have another 10-plus draft picks in the 2023 draft. The Chiefs can also have around $70 million in cap space this offseason to sign players to extensions, add free agents, and/or bring in players via trade. 

As with every transaction and decision, it's got to work to be successful. In what was supposed to be a down year for the Chiefs after trading Tyreek Hill and losing other pieces, though, they are still sitting at the top of the AFC West and are one of the two best teams in football so far.