Who will be the most improved players in the 2026 season?

In a quiet phase of the NFL schedule before training camp, let's open the Kansas City Chiefs mailbox. Here are your questions for me. Name two players (one on offense and one on defense) who will show the most improvement from last season. — Randy W. I love this question and two players immediately come to mind. On offense, it's receiver Xavier Worthy, who I wrote about last week. If the Chiefs had a summer practice MVP, it would be Worthy. Not only did he catch several long passes, but he also showed off a variety of routes, including great chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a touchdown in the red zone on one of seven on seven dribbles. I understand that some may be skeptical about how much we can gain from the success of a fast player like Worthy during non-contact drills. But when you look deeper, Worthy ticks many of the boxes for a player who can show significant growth in production. He's just 23 years old and entering his third season in the NFL. By comparison, Worthy is two months younger than teammate Cyrus Allen, a receiver the Chiefs selected in the fifth round of the draft in April. Is there a reason for the decline in performance last season? Yes, the obvious one: Worthy was playing with a torn ACL, which limited his routes. He should make a full recovery by the first week after surgery. If you apply the same standards to the defensive break, then another player comes into play: defensive end George Caraft. Entering his fifth year at age 25 (Caraft is two days older than Chargers first-round rookie cornerback Akeem Mesidore, if you want a comparison), Karaft also played injured last season after breaking his right hand. Defensive coach Joe Cullen revealed last month that Karaft's right arm is used primarily for power, which meant the defender was limited in using one of his key tools to pressure the quarterback last season. Even with the injury, Karafta's quarterback pressure rate ranked 18th among 102 qualified quarterbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. That's typically a more reliable statistic year-to-year than tackles, and Karaft should also get help from the Chiefs' defensive line improvements this offseason. If I had to bet on two Chiefs players to exceed expectations in 2026, I'd bet on Worthy and Karafta.