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During his time with the Kansas City Chiefs, Dante Hall established himself as a fan favorite. While his playing career ended more than a decade ago, his recent take on his former team should help maintain his popularity in Arrowhead.

During a recent public appearance, Hall shared his perspective on the 2021 Chiefs. In the X-Factor’s mind, Kansas City has done enough during the offseason to earn another trip to the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs had some offseason work to do, despite reaching back-to-back Super Bowls

For most teams, reaching back-to-back Super Bowls would be a sign of a job well done. The Chiefs, however, weren’t able to rest on their laurels during the 2021 NFL offseason.

While Kansas City claimed victory in Super Bowl 54, things were quite a bit different in February 2021. Thanks to an unlucky series of injuries, the Chiefs entered the big game with a patchwork offensive line. That unit couldn’t handle the Buccaneers’ defensive front and left Patrick Mahomes running for his life all evening.

On the back of that embarrassing defeat, general manager Brett Veach set out to ensure his club was in better shape for the 2021 campaign. The offensive line was rebuilt, with Joe Thuney, Kyle Long, and Orlando Brown Jr. joining the Chiefs organization. Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith also arrived via the draft, and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has returned from his year away from the gridiron.

The club also made a few moves on the defensive side of the ball, acquiring cornerback Mike Hughes in a trade and signing Jarran Reed after he parted ways with the Seattle Seahawks.

Dante Hall is impressed by his former team’s offseason business

Given the Chiefs’ big-picture success over the past few years, the club had a busier offseason than some might have expected. That effort has caught the attention of at least one former player: Dante Hall.

During his time in Kansas City, Hall proved to be one of the most exciting players in the league; the X-Factor made every kick or punt must-see TV. While he’s no longer playing football professionally, he still keeps tabs on the Chiefs and likes what he saw this offseason.

“I look for us to be right back in the big dance,” Hall told KAKE at the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet. “I love the fact that they addressed not only the offensive line by going out and paying top dollar for the top talent in the league, but I feel like we also addressed some defensive issues. I like the cornerback that they brought in, Hughes. I feel like we upgraded our linebacker position. So I look for us to be knocking on that door again in LA at the Super Bowl.”

As noted above, the Chiefs improved their offensive line with several different moves, but Hall’s “top talent dollar for the top talent” comment seems to be alluding to Brown. Jr. The Hughes is the aforementioned Mike Hughes and, while the linebacker upgrade is a bit less apparent, the former return man is probably referring to second-round pick Nick Bolton given the lack of other notable acquisitions at that position.

Even through fan-colored glasses, Dante Hall probably has a point

In addition to sharing his X-ray of the team’s offseason, Hall admitted that he didn’t really consider himself a Chiefs fan until Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the current squad won him over. Even if his analysis is slightly biased, though, the former receiver is probably fairly close to the mark.

While it’s impossible to predict how things will play out on the field with 100% accuracy, it does look like Kanas City’s brass has addressed their biggest order of offseason business. Offensive line improvements might not be the most exciting transactions, but they should give Mahomes a solid platform for success. If the quarterback can stand tall in the pocket and wait for Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Mercole Hardman to do their thing downfield, it’s tough to see any secondary slowing down the Chiefs’ offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, Kansas City probably still won’t be world-beaters, but that’s OK. If Reed, Humphry, and Hughes can even give that unit a small boost and keep them respectable, the offense can probably pick up the slack.

At this point, only time will tell if Dante Hall’s prediction is on-point. Picking the Kansas City Chiefs to return to the Super Bowl, though, is hardly a shot in the dark.

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Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.