The Chiefs are still right in the thick of the AFC West race, and a win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10 would pull them even with the Denver Broncos in the division. After a down 2025 season, Kansas City is starting to look like a legitimate Super Bowl contender again, with Patrick Mahomes also in position for a Comeback Player of the Year push.
But the most surprising awards buzz around the Chiefs doesn’t involve Mahomes at all.
ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell has gone with an unexpected name for Offensive Rookie of the Year: undrafted rookie free agent offensive tackle Khalil Benson.
“1. Khalil Benson, OT, Kansas City Chiefs. Yes, my Offensive Rookie of the Year through nine weeks is an undrafted free agent -- and a lineman,” Barnwell writes.
That kind of pick would have been hard to see coming for Chiefs fans. If a rookie were going to emerge as the obvious award candidate, first-round cornerback Mansoor Delane would have been the likeliest choice.
Cyrus Allen or Emmett Johnson also would have made more sense on paper. Instead, Barnwell has landed on a player who usually doesn’t get anywhere near this conversation.
Offensive linemen rarely break through in award races like this, but the path is at least open for Benson. No rookie quarterback has taken control of the race yet, and the production from the wide receivers, tight ends and running backs has been underwhelming. That leaves the door cracked for a lineman who has quietly done his job at a high level.
Kansas City has also needed Benson to handle a major role protecting Mahomes’ blindside, especially with Josh Simmons having been a non-factor.
Through the season, Benson has allowed two sacks and five quick pressures, numbers Barnwell called “above-average numbers for a team that throws the ball as often as the Chiefs.”
Barnwell still expects the award race to shift before the season ends, with names like Carnell Tate, Fernando Mendoza and Denzel Boston among the rookies he believes could eventually separate from the pack. For now, though, through the first two months of the year, his Offensive Rookie of the Year pick is Benson.
It’s an eye-catching projection, but it also reflects just how well Benson has played in his first NFL season.
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