Who are the key personnel the Kansas City Chiefs must keep in the NFL offseason?

The Chiefs just won their third Super Bowl in six seasons.

It’s straight back to work for the Kansas City Chiefs after their thrilling 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, as they must now secure their key players who are set to head into free agency.

Even if this means locking them down to a de facto contract to give them some trade value, that’s a better alternative than watching a good player walk to a rival for free.

Their ability to retain key players and turn around the ones who leave has made them a dominant force in the sport, akin to the kind of dominance Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots used to subject everyone to.

So enter their man of the moment on February 11, Mercole Hardman. After playing his part in the Chiefs’ previous two Super Bowls in 2019 and 2022, he departed the organization to head to the New York Jets.

But in what turned out to be somewhat of a fairytale story, he was traded back to the Chiefs midseason and the wide receiver went on to score the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.

He’s not a start but he’s a great utility player and the Chiefs should learn from their mistakes after letting him go once already. Aged 25, he still has a lot to give and is beginning to combine experience with age.

Obviously, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce’s offensive efforts will get the credit but a lot of praise should go to Steve Spagnuolo, the team’s defensive coordinator. During their postseason run, after a shaky regular season, the Chiefs’ defense were rock solid and never allowed more than 24 points against them.

So, it’s with the defense that we will turn our eyes to and the first name up is Chris Jones, who operates as a defensive tackle. Jones made 10.5 sacks across the season and 13 tackles and is a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl player with three rings to his name. Jones is priority #1.

Finally on the urgency list is their cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. Along with Trent McDuffie, the cornerback position is secured for the Chiefs… As long as they bring Sneed back. Aged 27, he’s in his prime and will attract good offers so the Chiefs should seek to lock him down now.