3 Chiefs Players Who Surprised Fans in a Big Way This Season

The Kansas City Chiefs have overcome plenty of adversity to this point in the season, as injuries on defense and even Patrick Mahomes himself going down haven't done much to stop Kansas City from rolling to another AFC West title. The Chiefs' usual suspects are playing excellent football once again, but these three surprises should be given more credit for Kansas City's start to the season than they are perhaps receiving.

3. RB LeSean McCoy

Shady looked to be on his way out of the league after a poor 2018 season in Buffalo, but his former coach from Philadelphia in Andy Reid gave him a lifeline with the Chiefs. Yup, 465 yards rushing normally isn't something to write home about, but McCoy has become Kansas City's leading rusher this season, and he's helped give a Chiefs backfield ravaged by injuries and the Kareem Hunt fiasco some consistency and reliability.

2. LB Damien Wilson

Anthony Hitchens and Wilson aren't exactly Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell as far as Chiefs linebackers go, but they've been a massive improvement over last year's unit that was among the worst in the league. Wilson, a former backup with the Cowboys, is just one tackle behind Hitchens for the team lead, and has emerged as one of the better coverage linebackers in the AFC as a part of new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's 4-3 scheme.

1. S Tyrann Mathieu

After his tenure in Arizona ended unceremoniously and his sabbatical in Houston was up and down, the Honey Badger has returned to form in Kansas City. Mathieu and rookie safety Juan Thornhill have both picked off three passes each, but Mathieu's two sacks and 68 tackles show that Spagnuolo has deployed Mathieu in a variety of roles all over the field, and he has excelled in all of them. It's no coincidence that Kansas City's defensive turnaround has coincided with Mathieu's return to excellence.