The Kansas City Chiefs remained competitive throughout the season despite a difficult campaign filled with losses and adversity. From the year long-loss of linebacker Derrick Johnson to star safety Eric Berry’s unfortunate diagnosis with Hodgkins Lymphoma to quarterback Alex Smith’s ruptured spleen, this team fought tooth and nail to finish the year with their second straight winning record. Their resilience to be relevant, despite obvious flaws, puts them in a good position to build on their continuity while the division champion Denver Broncos start over a bit.

Headed into their third year under coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs enter a pivotal offseason where they’re going to need a big time draft to bolster their roster since their salary cap is almost maxed out. Here’s a look at their season in review and a look toward the offseason.

What Went Right

Even though the Chiefs missed the playoffs, plenty worked out in their favor. Outside linebacker Justin Houston continued his rise, becoming the league’s premier pass rusher from the linebacker position. Leading the NFL and finishing the year just shy of the NFL record with 22 sacks, Houston gives the Chiefs a bonafide superstar on the defensive side of the football. Not to mention the most devastating pass rusher from the linebacker position this franchise, shoot the NFL, has seen since the late Derrick Thomas. Along the defensive line, Dontari Poe and Allen Bailey took major steps forward, combining for 11 sacks and providing the team with two pillars for continued growth on defense. On offense, Jamaal Charles continued to be a dynamic player for the Chiefs, rushing for over a thousand yards again and scoring a combined 14 touchdowns. Quarterback Alex Smith continued his solid play, avoiding the killer turnover and keeping his team in games. Some may find his playing style conservative but with better weapons on the outside and improved protection, Smith can lead this team effectively for the next couple of seasons. The biggest breakout star and most pleasant surprise for KC was tight end Travis Kelce; he may have started the season as their second tight end, but he ended the season as the focal point of their passing game. In his second season, Kelce emerged as one of the young bright spots at the position in the league. Tall, fast and in possession of velcro hands, when Kelce matures and packs on the muscle, he will become even more of a matchup nightmare for defenses.

What Went Wrong

The Chiefs dealt with a lot of losses this past season, starting in the offseason when they lost left tackle Branden Albert to the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Their offensive line took a major hit as they had to deal with the growing pains of Eric Fisher switching sides and learning to deal with the rigors of protecting the blindside in the pros. Right tackle felt the effects of the line shuffling while it and the guard position were manned by veteran stop gaps who were liabilities. Next were the losses on defense of linebackers Joe Mays and Derrick Johnson plus defensive end Mike DeVito and safety Eric Berry. These losses had serious effects on their overall defensive play and the Chiefs’ run defense suffered the most because of it. Kansas City was 28th in rushing yards allowed in 2014, as opponents averaged 4.7 yards per carry against the Chiefs. KC also has a secondary that -outside of Sean Smith – is average, especially without Berry. If it wasn’t for a combination of Kansas City’s hellacious pass rush and pourous run defense, their pass defense wouldn’t have been ranked second best in league. A mirage of sorts, the Chiefs could stand to upgrade their personnel and build up a unit that produced only six interceptions. They also have to prepare for life without Berry as he battles with serious health issues and has no expected recovery time. The most glaring issue with the Chiefs this past season was their lack of offensive firepower. Sure, the Chiefs have a productive running game and a stud tight end working the middle of the field, but their issues are on the perimeter at wide receiver. Kansas City went the entire season without their wide outs producing a single touchdown, and needless to say they need to get much better production from the position to help their offense be less pedestrian.

Impending Free Agents

Unrestricted:

Jason Avant, wide receiver

Kurt Coleman, defensive back

Thomas Gafford, long snapper

Richard Gordon, tight end

Ryan Harris, offensive tackle

Justin Houston, outside linebacker

Rodney Hudson, center

Jeffrey Linkenbach, offensive line

Josh Mauga, linebacker

Mike McGlynn, offensive guard

Joe McKnight, running back

Chris Owens, cornerback

Ron Parker, safety

Kevin Vickerson, defensive line

Restricted:

Dezman Moses, linebacker

Kelcie McCray, safety

Their restricted free agents are low-cost players who should be back for camp but their stays beyond that will require them to beat out fresh bodies that are sure to be brought in to compete for their respective spots. Kansas City’s main priorities though will be retaining their superstar pass rusher Justin Houston and starting center Rodney Hudson. With the shortage of cap space the Chiefs possess, figure Houston to draw their franchise tag to ensure they keep him around or at least get premium compensation for his departure. Strapped with that lack of cap space, KC will need to be creative to keep Hudson as the linchpin of their offensive line. Hudson has progressively gotten better and would leave a huge void in the middle of what is already an average line in need of upgrades. Defensive backs Parker and Coleman contributed to the league’s second best pass defense and while the team can stand to get more interceptions from their secondary, you can never have enough coverage specialists and depth that translates to strengthening their special teams at the very least. Mauga definitely isn’t starting material long term at linebacker but he did an admirable job filling in and leading the team in tackles so for the right price, the Chiefs should bring him back. Free agent offensive linemen Harris and McGlynn provided necessary veteran stop gaps as the youngsters the Chiefs looked to turn over the left guard and right tackle positions to dealt with injury and off the field issues respectively. Moving forward KC will be on the market for similar players to compete with their youngsters, but they’ll more than likely wait until after the draft to address veteran minimum type signings, leaving Harris and McGlynn’s future with the team in limbo.

Needs Analysis

Kansas City doesn’t have many holes to fill, but the ones they do have are pretty apparent. First, they need to figure out who is going to be their right tackle? Will they put their trust in Donald Stephenson or bring in an alternative? Either way they need to shore up that side of the line while also addressing one of the guard spots. KC was below average in pass protection and decent in opening running lanes although that job is much easier when your running back runs a 4.2 forty. Complementing their existing talent on offense with some threats on the outside is the most dire situation that needs to be addressed. They can’t go another season without a touchdown from their receiving core and expect to reach the playoffs. They need at least a pair of quality receivers and if they end up releasing Dwayne Bowe, they will be in need of at least three. The lack of threats to get deep or make something out of nothing after the catch makes their offense limited and with Andy Reid’s outdated, predictable offensive system, dynamic players are the only way to make his system dangerous. On defense, the Chiefs need to patch up their leaky run defense; for one they need to address their depth on the defensive line and at linebacker. While they will be getting guys back from injury, it was clear they lack quality of depth and should plan to not find themselves in that position again. Their secondary needs dynamic players desperately, as Berry is out indefinitely, Smith is a fine corner but doesn’t create turnovers and overall the secondary needs to provide more than six interceptions as a unit.

Overview

Kansas City isn’t too far away, since they have some components teams spend years trying to acquire. The Chiefs are armed with a solid QB, a good running game and a devastating pass rush that should continue to keep them competitive. Unfortunately, this will be a tricky off-season for the Chiefs as they won’t be able to retain all of their key players and make a splash in free agency to upgrade the roster. They will have their work cut out for them to make significant improvements to personnel and will need to have a very good draft to make the leap they are hoping to make. Currently, the AFC West looks to be a division that will be up for grabs with two teams to be under new leadership. With a few of the right personnel moves and continued continuity, the Chiefs will again be in play for a playoff berth and maybe more if the cards are in their favor. Mishandling their cap and botching their draft could lead to a steep regression. Look for the Chiefs to fall somewhere in between just good enough to compete but not good enough to improve.