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Person on the hot seat: WR Mecole Hardman

The Chiefs showed a lot of faith in the third-year player, declining to bring in a veteran receiver or draft one in an early round to replace Sammy Watkins. Hardman is first in line to replace Watkins and needs to justify that faith. If he doesn't respond with a consistent season, one without all the highs and lows of the past two seasons, look for the Chiefs to acquire a receiver next year to join Tyreek Hill as a regular. -- Adam Teicher

Andy Reid is old school, and so it was that Patrick Mahomes was one of the few established starting quarterbacks in the league to see extended preseason action. Mahomes came out of the games healthy (phew), and the re-made offensive line passed its initial test. Mahomes wasn't sacked once in three games, and the new group -- made up of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., left guard Joe Thuney, rookie center Creed Humphrey, rookie right guard Trey Smith and first-year right tackle Lucas Niang -- delivered its best performance in the final tune-up against the Vikings. Said Mahomes: "I think they've had an amazing preseason."

The rebuilt offensive line should make the offense get back to scoring points in a big way with Patrick Mahomes lighting it up. There are some concerns about the defense that have to improve.

Their revamped offensive line projects to have three players (rookie C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith and RT Lucas Niang) who have combined for zero NFL starts. Could be a rough beginning for a team that will see Myles Garrett, Calais Campbell and Joey Bosa in September.

Why they're ranked here: The Chiefs were our top-ranked team heading into training camp, and they remain No. 1 today, earning a first-place vote from 15 of our 25 panelists. That gave Kansas City a slight overall edge on the Bucs. The rationale for the Chiefs here? One: Patrick Mahomes; perhaps you've heard of him. Two: There's a big gap in the talent level between the Chiefs and the rest of the AFC. That leaves a fairly clear path for Kansas City to, at the very least, return to the conference championship game.

One big question: Who will step up as receiving options after Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill? The Chiefs have possibly the best tight end-wide receiver duo in the NFL with Kelce and Hill. But for Kansas City to be the high-flying, record-setting offense so many of us clearly expect, it will need more consistent options behind those two. Is it Mecole Hardman? Demarcus Robinson? We have yet to see it consistently from either, but Andy Reid will need to find someone reliable.