3 Chiefs superlatives for the 2021 season

On Wednesday’s mailbag edition of the Arrowhead Pride Out of Structure podcast, Matt Stagner and I made up superlatives for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2021 season — from “Most likely defensive player to play offense” to “Most likely to get flagged for taunting.”

It was a fun segment, so make sure you listen to the whole thing. I picked out three of them to highlight:

Most likely offensive lineman to score a touchdown

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw a tweet I posted on Tuesday morning, highlighting a pass attempt that was meant for right tackle Mike Remmers. In an eligible position on third-and-short, Remmers blocked — and then attempted to release on a route into the flat. But the linebacker got physical with him on the line of scrimmage — and Remmers drew a defensive holding penalty.

Two of Remmers’ teammates enjoyed seeing their 32-year-old offensive lineman attempt to run the route.

Most likely to take a big career step

Ron: Safety Juan Thornhill

We’ve seen Thornhill play at nearly an elite level for a young player. Before he tore his ACL in Week 17 of his rookie season, he was one of the NFL’s best young safeties. Even last season, he began to come on as the season went forward; in the AFC championship, he had four pass breakups — which is a lot for a safety.

In the next offseason, Thornhill could become a player the Chiefs will want to sign to an extension before the fourth year of his rookie deal.

Matt: Wide receiver Mecole Hardman

Hardman is obviously someone that we hope takes a big step — and also needs to take a big step to get to where he should be at this point of his career. He does have some really unique ability on the football field — and it seems like he is focused and has the right attitude.

With Sammy Watkins out of the way, he may have more opportunities to shine. Snaps and targets will be available — and Hardman should be the most likely guy to scoop them up for a big jump in production.

Most likely to make fans throw things at their televisions in frustration

Ron: Head coach Andy Reid

I think Andy is the easy answer for this, right? We all do it! We all question the creative play-call on third-and-5 that sometimes doesn’t work. By making these plays work in big moments, Reid can often make us feel stupid about complaining — but there are still some frustrating calls.

For example: Week 16 of last season against the Atlanta Falcons. On fourth-and-short, Watkins got the ball in his hands on a toss — and then threw it deep across the field to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was in tight coverage. It happens.

Matt: Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson

I’ll take the other safe answer. Over the last couple of years, Robinson has had many frustrating moments. He’s fumbled, been in the wrong places, dropped passes he should have caught or run backward on punt returns. When Robinson is in the game, something weird is likely to happen — and now that he should get more snaps, it may happen even more often.