Chiefs ‘triplets’ now ranked at the top of the NFL

On Friday morning, NFL.com’s Ali Bhanpuri published his ranking of the league’s top “triplets” — that is, the quarterback, running back and No. 1 pass-catcher on each team.

Starting with statistical data for players at these positions — just as he did for this ranking last season — Bhanpuri decided to modify his criteria for quarterbacks by evaluating whom he would want in a one-and-done situation and their projected 2020 production. Then he multiplied the quarterback’s share by 1.5 to account for what he called a “value boost.”

1. Kansas City Chiefs (4th last season)

• Score: 137 pts
• Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes — Rank: 1 (One game: 1 | 2020 prod.: 1)
• Running back: Clyde Edwards-Helaire — Rank: 19
• Pass catcher: Travis Kelce — Rank: 6

MVP, Super Bowl champ, Super Bowl MVP, highest-paid athlete in team sports and now, Triplets King. Mahomes was saving the best for last, clearly. His sweep of the two QB categories, plus my overzealous ranking of CEH, narrowly nudges Kansas City into the No. 1 spot. It’s probably unfair (and even unwise) to rank a rookie so high, but just think about what that offense extracted from guys like Damien Williams, Kareem Hunt and Spencer Ware, and then imagine what it might do for someone with CEH’s skill set and pedigree. The Chiefs are spoiled with two playmakers who would likely land in the top 15 in a straight pass catcher ranking, but for the purposes of this exercise, I stuck with Kelce — the $57 million human security blanket for the best quarterback in the world.

The New Orleans Saints (Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas), Dallas Cowboys, (Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper), Atlanta Falcons (Matt Ryan, Todd Gurley and Julio Jones) and Seattle Seahawks (Russell Wilson, Chris Carson and Tyler Lockett) filled out the top five.

I’ll have to agree with Bhanpuri’s take — particularly the part about ranking which quarterback you’d want to have in a “one-and-done” situation. For all the years I’ve been engaging with other Chiefs fans, I’ve learned that most of them value players with that mystical clutch ability above all others. And now with Mahomes, Chiefs fans can claim the clutchiest player of them all.

It’s telling to me that the Baltimore Ravens — with current NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the helm — ranked eighth on Bhanpuri’s list. The San Francisco 49ers — a very good team that deserved making it to Super Bowl LIV — ranked 18th.

For decades, Chiefs fans have complained about not having a genuine franchise quarterback — and also about not getting respect from national writers. At long last, those days are over.

That’s what a little 2-3 Jet Chip Wasp in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl will do for you.