The 2026 NFL season kicks off Wednesday with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks renewing their Super Bowl rivalry during Seattle’s banner-raising ceremony. The Kansas City Chiefs will kick things off on “Monday Night Football” against the Denver Broncos in just a few short days.

Before any football is played, it felt like the right time to make predictions for Chiefs end-of-season awards. Kansas City only hands out its Derrick Thomas MVP and Mack Lee Hill Award for first-year or rookie players. We’ll expand that to include a few more awards. The Chiefs have a lot of new faces on the roster and some young, up-and-coming players ready to make an outsized impact on the team’s ability to win games and produce at a high clip.

Here’s a look at predictions for team MVP, Comeback Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, and Assistant Coach of the Year ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

MVP and Comeback Player of the Year: QB Patrick Mahomes

I don’t think any situation exists where either of these awards goes to another player. For Patrick Mahomes to be ready to play nine months removed from his injury and surgery is a remarkable feat. The expectation is that he won’t just be his full self, but potentially an even better version of himself after the offseason he’s had. In rehab, Mahomes has been able to hone in on small details and things that have gotten away from him in recent seasons. It just speaks volumes about the type of player Mahomes is. He’s always looking to improve on the margins.

Things are setting up for him to potentially have another MVP-type campaign. The only competition in my eyes would be running back Kenneth Walker, another Super Bowl MVP on the roster. But when push comes to shove, this offense goes as Mahomes goes, and he has proven time and again that he shouldn’t be doubted. I’m not going to be the one to start now.

Offensive Player of the Year: RB Kenneth Walker

I think Walker is the player most likely to win Offensive Player of the Year. The team invested in him, and those in the building already view him as a franchise pillar. He can realistically be the first 1,000-yard rusher the Chiefs have had since the 2017 NFL season. But I think he’ll transform this offense at every level.

His ability to create explosive plays in the run game will open up the passing game. Not just the deep passing game, but the intermediate as well. His ability to catch passes and activate Andy Reid’s creativity in the screen game will be massive. He can get the most out of the interior offensive line (the strength of the O-Line). It all gives me hope that he can be more than just a running back for this team. He’s the sparkplug that will pull them back into an era of offensive success.

Defensive Player of the Year: CB Nohl Williams

I’m not choosing defensive tackle Chris Jones for this award. It’s time to pass the mantle and begin building around other players. While I think Jones will have a fine season, Williams is going to emerge as a shutdown cornerback. He provides the physicality and level of consistency at the position that Steve Spagnuolo looks for. It’s the type of thing that sets the tone for the defense.

It was apparent last season that Williams was the best rookie cornerback in the NFL. He simply didn’t get many opportunities with Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie in the fold as the two primary starters. This year, he and Mansoor Delane will be two players frequently on the outside. Nickel defense is essentially the base defense in the NFL now, which means we’ll get a lot of snaps with Delane, Williams, and L’Jarius Sneed on the field together.

While I don’t know he’ll have much ball production, I do think he’ll be tested frequently and won’t fail. Teams are going to throw to his side of the field because they might not have a choice with Delane also locking things down across from him. Williams is going to be positioned to make a lot of quarterbacks pay for throwing his way in the form of not allowing receptions and creating pass breakups. Chiefs DBs coach Dave Merritt has admitted the scheme doesn’t create many turnovers for cornerbacks. That doesn’t mean a cornerback can’t earn this type of recognition.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Emmett Johnson

This might be a surprising pick. I probably could have gone with offensive tackle Kahlil Benson. It looks like he’ll get the opportunity to start at a high-leverage position, potentially left tackle. I also could have chosen Cyrus Allen, the offseason and training camp darling for Kansas City at the position. I’m just not yet sure Allen will get enough opportunities with all the mouths they have to feed at receiver and tight end.

On the other hand, I think Johnson is going to be heavily involved as the No. 2 running back in Kansas City. Johnson can carve out a substantial role in this offense, not just as a ball carrier. We know the team will want to keep Walker fresh for a full season, given his injury history. Johnson could very well be on the field on third-down, short-yardage, and goal-line situations. If that’s the case, I expect a very productive year for Johnson.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: DE R Mason Thomas

This might be a bit of a hot take, given that the two players picked before him, defensive tackle Peter Woods and cornerback Mansoor Delane, are also going to be competing to earn this type of award for Kansas City. I just think that what Thomas showed during the preseason proves he can make the most impact on this defense during his rookie season.

Delane has great coverage ability, plays physically, and tackles well downhill. The Chiefs scheme simply doesn’t allow cornerbacks to get their hands on the football often. I don’t think he’ll be in the best position to have the box score typically associated with an award like this (though he might not need it, just like Williams). Similarly, I’m not sure that Woods gets the playing time and makes the impact to earn the award.

On the flip side, Thomas and what he showed throughout the preseason? That makes me feel he will play quite a few snaps opposite George Karlaftis this year. Pressure and sacks are categories where the Chiefs need vast improvement. Thomas has the quick get-off and the ability to run the arc, which will only make the rest of the defensive line better and create opportunities for Kansas City to affect the passer. I won’t be shocked if we’re sitting here at the bye week and Thomas is the team’s pressure and sack leader.

Assistant Coach of the Year: RBs coach DeMarco Murray

If two running backs land on this list, there’s no way I could give the Assistant Coach of the Year award to anyone other than DeMarco Murray. He has a lot of things going for him already. For instance, the return of Eric Bieniemy and the Chiefs’ heavy investment at running back. There’s virtually no way this unit will be worse than it was a season ago. There’s only up from here.

If Walker wins Offensive Player of the Year, the team’s investment will have paid off. If Johnson wins Offensive Rookie of the Year, it’d say a lot about the future. In this imaginary predictive world, Murray deserves the flowers for coaching up the players to make it happen.