Let’s Argue: Chiefs will have a top 5 defense

Welcome to this week’s edition of Let’s Argue!

Let’s Argue is a weekly series that looks at hot takes, unpopular opinions, wacky predictions and more from Kansas City Chiefs fans.

The Chiefs are too dependent on Frank Clark bouncing back

Heading into this season, this is the main concern I have for the Chiefs — and to be quite frank about it, I don’t think it should be an unpopular opinion.

As the roster is currently constructed, Clark will be heavily relied upon to get consistent quarterback pressure from the edge.

And that is a problem. In 14 games last season, Clark only totaled 4.5 sacks.

With Melvin Ingram out of the picture, the Chiefs are going to need much more production from Clark. There’s also a lot riding on rookie first-round pick George Karlaftis producing immediately.

The Chiefs will have a top 5 offense and defense

The first part of this tweet shouldn’t be unpopular at all. Yes, Tyreek Hill is gone. But do you know who’s not gone? Just some guys named Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Three future Hall of Famers.

No biggie.

In addition to the big three, Kansas City has one of the game’s best offensive lines. It should create nice running lanes for running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ronald Jones and Isiah Pacheco.

It’s the other side of the ball where we have an issue. If the Kansas City defense ends up being a top 5 unit, you might as well hand the Chiefs the Lombardi Trophy right now.

Unfortunately, I don’t see that being the case. As I just mentioned, the pass rush is very concerning. And while I like the team’s moves in the secondary, there are still a lot of unproven guys who have to gel together.

Just like any other year under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, I believe his unit will start off a little slow — but will improve as the season goes on. If it finishes in the top half of the league, I would consider that a success.

Mecole Hardman will have a career year

It’s hard to dispute this, right?

With wide receiver Tyreek Hill no longer in the picture, it’s safe to assume Hardman’s usage will skyrocket. Nobody can replace what Hill brought to the table — but out of all the receivers on the roster, Hardman is the guy most suited to do so.

Hardman doesn’t quite have Hill’s speed, but we should expect the Chiefs to utilize him in similar ways.

By sitting him as a rookie, the Chiefs wasted a year of Patrick Mahomes’ career

For years and years, this will be a great debate.

On one side, you have those who say that Mahomes wouldn’t have thrown for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns if he wasn’t for sitting behind Alex Smith during his rookie year.

But others will say that because of his physical traits (and the talent around him), Mahomes could have had similar success in his rookie year.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know — but we can all agree that everything has turned out just fine for No. 15.