The Kansas City Chiefs have a guy near the top of the 25 under 25 lists that one NFL analyst just came out with. The Chiefs were an elite team in 20129 when they won their first Super Bowl with this core group.
But, to be honest, they weren’t necessarily a young team. In fact, according to Philly Voice, they were the 16th youngest team that year, so right in the middle when it came to age.
That Super Bowl was almost purely built on the veterans, experience, and skill level of every player on the team. There weren’t too many young guys. Now, this last Super Bowl, that is a completely different story. They were one of the youngest teams in the league.
They played the sixth most total rookie snaps at 3,721, behind just the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans, per Pro Football Focus.
Three of these teams made the playoffs and one of them won the Super Bowl. Now, while this article isn’t about rookies, it does help show that the Chiefs have started to head in a different direction.
But are still contending while doing so. They are revamping their roster with young guys now, that way they can try and keep that dynasty rolling. A huge part of their success last year had to do with a ton of players under 25 years old.
One player in general, is one of the best players in the league under age 25, and even cracked a list one NFL analyst made.
Humphrey has been as rock solid as a young offensive lineman can be. He’s recorded back-to-back elite grades of 91.8 in 2021 and 89.9 in 2022.
On more than 1,400 true pass-blocking snaps played, he’s given up on one sack and just 28 total pressures across the past two years. -Trevor Sikkema • PFF. If you ask me, Humphrey is the best center in football. It’s close, so I won’t say it isn’t, but to me, he is the best.
He is a huge reason why the Chiefs have a top-three offensive line. He is a huge reason they were able to turn their offensive line from terrible one year to amazing the next.
Humphrey also made this list last year, where he was ranked 16th at the time. The jump from 16 to 6 is great, even if some players aged out of eligibility for this list, he is still getting better every year.
The Chiefs are so good at finding young talent, and it shows and has shown the last few years. Look at Trey Smith, Humphrey’s running mate, who was a sixth-round pick and is a top right guard in the league. George Karlaftis was a rookie last year and ended with six sacks. The Chiefs have done this the last few years, and the guy who started it was Creed Humphrey.
