We are 48 days away from the Kansas City Chiefs‘ season-opening game against the Denver Broncos on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1.
The No. 48 jersey will be worn by linebacker Cole Christiansen in Chiefs training camp, and he has worn it since he joined Kansas City before the 2022 season.
The uniform has an underrated group of all-time Chiefs to have worn it:
The memorable No. 48s in franchise history
Todd McNair (1989 – 1993, 1996)
Duane Wood (1960 – 1964)
Nate Allen (1971 – 1974)
James Hadnot (1980 – 1983)
After the Chiefs drafted McNair in the eighth round of the 1989 draft, he carved out a receiving-first role out of the backfield when the Chiefs ran
the West Coast offense. Over six years with the Chiefs, McNair caught 186 passes, gained 1,856 yards and caught six touchdowns while rushing just 128 times for 667 yards and another three scores.
In a late-season, 24-21 win over the San Diego Chargers in 1990, McNair gained a career-high 111 receiving yards on three catches, one gaining 65 yards and another being a 40-yard touchdown catch late in the first half.
48: The number of combined tackles by George Karlaftis last season
The leading tackler among the Chiefs’ defensive linemen in 2025 was Karlaftis, who finished (48) with the 11th-most combined tackles among all NFL defensive ends, according to Pro Football Reference.
It speaks to how active Karlaftis is on all downs, even as he played through a broken hand for a portion of last year. His 23 quarterback hits, which ranked 18th among all NFL defenders, are also a strong indicator of how consistently Karlaftis makes his presence felt.
Kansas City just needs those hits to result in more sacks in 2026, which could be aided by effective pass rush from teammates like Chris Jones and rookie R Mason Thomas.
