Chiefs Manage to Redefine: The Triplets – It’s happened right before our eyes. It’s rarely been seen but with an avalanche of sorted news stories this offseason, it has been obscured almost completely: the Kansas City Chiefs manage to redefine: The Triplets.
I lived in the Dallas area for 20 years and retired after a life of teaching nearly two years ago now. In Big D, if you said the word, “Triplets”… well, everyone, even babies, knew exactly who you were talking about: Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith. Of course, they weren’t the original “Triplets” but you’d never have known that if you lived in Texas.
This is not a new idea… the notion that securing greats at three positions, 1) QB, 2) RB, and 3) WR… would put a team in position to make a run at multiple championships. The Cowboys won three out of four Super Bowls with the Aikman-Irvin-Smith trio and other teams have accomplished similar results, so the approach has appeared valid. QB Terry Bradshaw, WR Lynn Swann, and RB Franco Harris of the late 1970s were an excellent example of the triumvirate. Those Steelers teams also had WR John Stallworth, who made that offense even more formidable. All four of them have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In the early 1970s, the Miami Dolphins had QB Bob Griese, WR Paul Warfield, and RB Larry Csonka who led them to the only unbeaten season in 1972, but played in three Super Bowls in a row together, winning their last two. All three are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
While the QB/WR/RB threesome has been defined with a RB, the Kansas City Chiefs are making their own waves with a triad of their own: QB, WR and TE.
The critical component of each group of players, in order to be successful, is that they be listed at the top of the league at their respective positions. No, they don’t necessarily have to be the absolute best at their position, but near the top in each case is required. That, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what the Kansas City Chief have melded together, a quarterback, a wide receiver and a tight end… who are all top NFL performers.
The Decline of the Running Back
In an article written by Nick Rose for watchfantom.com called, “The Three Highest and Lowest Paid Offensive NFL Positions” he states:
“Franchises have long given up trying to find the back that can “do it all” and now try to find two or three versatile backs. This is why it is so rare to see a running back taken, as Saquon Barkley was, in the first round. Most of them fall to the second and third rounds. No one in the NFL wants to end up with a Trent Richardson.”
With the exception of Kareem Hunt, Andy Reid has essentially done the same thing here in Kansas City since he arrived in January of 2013. Sure, he likes to have a primary back, but he’s used a running back by committee approach even when Hunt was leading the league in his rookie year. of 2017.
The Kansas City Chiefs New Triplets: QB Patrick Mahomes, TE Travis Kelce and…
Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill
Considered by many to be the fastest man in the NFL, Hill is every defensive coordinator’s Michael Myers, a horror film character who can’t be killed… or in Hill’s case, stopped. In 2018, Hill caught 87 passes for 1,479 yards which placed him 4th in the league. That’s right, only three other WRs gained more years receiving than the Chiefs third year wideout.
Hill also had 213 Punt return yards in 2018 and a TD to go along with that. Hill’s presence keeps the other team’s “woke” as there is no sleeping when Hill steps on the field of play. In the past three years Hill has had over 1,000 return yards and 5 TDs as well (including Punts and Kickoff returns).
If you’ve ever been to the Chiefs training camp and were close enough to Hill to watch his first step, you almost can’t believe how fast he is because you almost can’t see it. He’s that quick and fast. If you follow Fantasy rankings, he’s the #1 Fantasy WR in 2018. If I was starting a team owner and could choose one Wide Receiver/Kick Returner… it would be Tyreek Hill. I think he’s that good (great).
Tight End Travis Kelce
Mr. Kelce is what Kansas City has needed for a long time: a national personality who is also the best tight end in the game. Kelce came to the Chiefs as a 3rd round pick in 2013, Reid’s first draft here and following a rookie campaign in which he was injured the whole year, he’s done nothing but prove he’s the best in the league. It’s been much publicized that Kelce has had three years straight with over 1,000 yards receiving and no one else has ever done that. Tony Gonzalez reached 1,000+ yards two years in a row… but only four times total in his 17 year Hall of Fame career. So, Kelce is already in a league of his own.
In 2018, Kelce had 1,336 receiving yards (a figure Gonzo never reached) and if you add his receiving yards together with Tyreek Hill’s, from last year, it totals 2,815 receiving yards. If you take those yards and subtract them from the 5,097 total yards Patrick Mahomes threw for in 2018, you come up with 2,282 yards.
Note: If Hill and Kelce can replicate their performances of 2018, PMII would only need 2,282 more passing yards to break the 5,000 yards barrier again.
Travis Kelce has not only served to provide an elusive target for defenses to cover over the middle, he’s been an inspiration to his teammates. For the past two years Kelce has taken a role that allows him to channel his passion and energies into helping his teammates.
Here's part of our interview w/ Travis Kelce last week in Houston. Talking leadership & growth.
The full feature ➡️ https://t.co/sBSgZIbsbr pic.twitter.com/tN2sv22RX4
— BJ Kissel (@ChiefsReporter) February 7, 2017
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes
The realities surrounding the Chiefs second year (as a starter) QB Patrick Mahomes is that a lot of people outside of Kansas City want to see him “do it again” before they believe that what they saw from him last year wasn’t a fluke. Of course, you can bet that the other teams in the AFC West are hoping last year was just that: a fluke.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, it’s a prove-it league every year you step on the field. That’s the thing though, Patrick Mahomes did it every week he stepped on the field — every play — and has given no one any reason to believe he’ll be backing off, or backing down, in 2019.
Expectations are high in Kansas City. Fans are ramped up like never before… well, not since I can remember, and I can remember all the way back to the 1960s.
If a trilogy-thrillogy is to be written in Kansas City, the Chiefs have just exactly the three players to write the ending(s). For now… we’re still in the middle of the story… and loving it! Go Chiefs!
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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