Going into any season, there are certain players on an NFL roster feeling more pressure than the rest. That could be due to contract status, availability concerns, or the team lacking depth behind a player, making one player even more important.
Here are the Kansas City Chiefs players who face the most pressure on them to perform in 2026 and why:
Left tackle Josh Simmons
Simmons was outstanding in his snaps as a rookie, showing the potential to become one of the best left tackles in the NFL.
The pressure on Simmons comes from
the need to prove he can stay in the starting lineup for a full season.
It’s not his fault that he has missed time over the last two seasons. He left the team for personal reasons and got injured twice. Regardless, the Chiefs do need Simmons to stay healthy and available for 17 games to reach their ceiling. Kansas City’s front office didn’t do anything to address tackle depth this offseason; that feels like a significant bet on Simmons to stay healthy.
Running back Kenneth Walker
Through all the excitement about the new offensive coaching staff, only one move was made to boost the unit’s personnel. There is a heavy weight on Walker’s shoulders to be a next-level difference maker due to the team’s recent ruts in the run game.
The Chiefs have very, very rarely created explosive rushes in three seasons, and signing Walker is the direct fix to that issue. Walker is one of the top big-play backs in the league with his speed and agility in space.
Gashes of 10 or more yards are necessary for a Chiefs offense that still has pass-game personnel limitations.
Kansas City also needs Walker to stay consistent for 17 games. Walker’s highlights are some of the best in the NFL, but he can be inconsistent. His vision can be up and down, and he will unnecessarily bounce runs outside. Even for the majority of last season, Walker wasn’t the most dependable running back for the Seattle Seahawks. However, he ironed out most of his issues during the championship run.
The Chiefs will be looking for that postseason run to carry over into the 2026 campaign; offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could be one of the biggest factors in raising Walker’s consistency.
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy
Worthy’s 2025 season was a step back from what he did as a rookie. He was clearly impacted by the shoulder injury he suffered at the start of the season, which led the coaching staff to avoid targeting Worthy in short areas of the field where he could face contact.
Worthy was also put in a bad role for his skill set once Rashee Rice returned from suspension. The Chiefs often had to play Rice and Travis Kelce in the slot, forcing Worthy to play on the boundary. He struggled to make an impact in that role, as longer cornerbacks were able to get into his frame and prevent him from creating separation with his speed.
For 2026, the Chiefs need Worthy to be much closer to what he was as a rookie, if not even better. Hopefully, his being healthy means the team is more willing to get him the ball underneath. Worthy also needs to make strides in beating press coverage on the outside if he wants to have a role with the current personnel.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice
The Chiefs didn’t make a significant move at wide receiver this offseason, putting pressure on Rice and Worthy to take steps in their development. As the team’s top target, they need Rice to be great this year if they want to avoid the offensive shortfalls they had in 2025. Rice has to take steps as a route runner in some way. His entire route tree can’t exist within five yards. He needs some semblance of a downfield route tree. If he could also take strides playing anywhere but the slot, that could go a long way.
Rice has internal pressure to perform since he is a free agent in 2027 as well. Both the team and Rice need him to perform at a high-level.
The young Defensive Line
The Chiefs have had one of the worst pass rush units in the NFL over the past two seasons, and the team has tried to address that through the draft. Kansas City has taken four defensive linemen with top-70 picks over the past two seasons – defensive tackles Peter Woods and Omarr Norman-Lott, plus edge rushers R Mason Thomas and Ashton Gillotte.
Besides defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive end George Karlaftis, those four players need to boost the Chiefs’ pass rush. There aren’t veteran players behind them. The front office wanted to add young, athletic players to give the group more juice, and it’s on them to produce.
The best-case scenario for Kansas City is that those players can have a similar impact to what the Los Angeles Rams had over the past few seasons before trading for Myles Garrett. The Rams drafted Jared Verse, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, and Byron Young. The young defenders complemented each other and gave the Rams one of the best pass rush units in the NFL.
The talent of Jones and Karlaftis is a simpler top-line to build around than Los Angeles previously had, but the Chiefs need more layers of the different pressure packages, enough to not waste strong performances from the group’s top guys.
Cornerback Nohl Williams
Williams figures to be the starter at one of the boundary cornerback spots, replacing Jaylen Watson. Watson was a really good starter for the Chiefs, so Williams has a high bar to clear.
Williams had some good snaps to close the season last year, but he’s going to have to prove he can hang in there for a full schedule with many more meaningful matchups than in 2025.
Safety Chamarri Conner
The Chiefs signed Kadar Kohou and drafted Jadon Canady as options to play in the slot this season, which should hopefully relieve Conner from having to do that. Conner is a useful player, but he’s been overtasked in the slot for two years. He struggles to cover anyone in space from that spot, which is why the team added more coverage-oriented players in Kohou and Canady.
Conner figures to move back to deep safety, which is a more natural spot for him.
Conner is now the most tenured member of the secondary, and he needs to be a more solid player at safety if defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is going to continue trusting him to the level he has shown in recent years. The Chiefs’ safety options besides Alohi Gilman are unproven. The unit’s performance could teeter based on how well Conner plays alongside Gilmn as the projected starting safeties.
