The Super Bowl is a place where stars are born. With a strong performance, you'll live in NFL lore for the rest of time and likely be a hometown hero who'll be entrenched in the community for years to come. Players like Malcolm Butler, David Tyree, Timmy Smith and Nick Foles all jumped out of relative obscurity to now being remembered as some of the top performers on the NFL's highest stage. As we gear up for Super Bowl LVIII, it's worth wondering who could possibly enter that exclusive club with a stellar showing.
While Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are already household names across the league, let's take a look at a trio of Chiefs players, who could put themselves on the map with a great performance in this year's Super Bowl.
Rashee Rice
During a season where the Chiefs wide receiver group was put under the microscope due to its drops, Rice has emerged as a bright spot for the unit. The second-round pick out of SMU has become a trusted weapon for Mahomes and already is putting together a historic postseason. Coming into the Super Bowl, Rice has the fourth-most playoff receiving yards (223) by a rookie all time. He'd need a monster 145-yard receiving game to tie Ja'Marr Chase for the record, but that may not be as far-fetched as you think as Rice already has a 130-yard game under his belt this postseason.
The 49ers have been strong against tight ends this year, which makes the matchup for Kelce a bit daunting. If he's bottled up, Mahomes will likely have to lean a bit more on Rice. If he can answer the bell and help lead the Chiefs to a victory, he'll forever be remembered in Kansas City.
George Karlaftis
When you think of the Chiefs defense, Chris Jones is the first name that comes to mind but don't sleep on Karlaftis, who has been emerging as one of the top young pass rushers in the NFL. The 2022 first-round pick is coming off a strong sophomore campaign where he totaled 10.5 sacks (tied for the team lead), 17 quarterback hits, and 35 pressures in 16 regular-season games. Karlaftis has picked up his play even more in the playoffs where he has 2.5 sacks, which is tied for the second-most among all players.
While San Francisco does have a sturdy offensive line, Karlaftis does have the talent to turn this game on its head. When pressured this postseason, Brock Purdy is completing 13 of his 27 pass attempts (48.1%), has just 190 passing yards and an interception.
Trent McDuffie
McDuffie is another first-round pick from that 2022 draft class who has drastically helped Kansas City's defense develop into one of the top units in the league. The corner has been stellar in coverage this postseason, allowing just a 44.4% completion percentage when he's the primary defender in coverage. Opposing quarterbacks also have registered just a 70.1 passer rating when throwing at McDuffie.
While he's stood up strong in coverage, where McDuffie shines is applying pressure on the quarterback. His nine quarterback hits this season are the most by any corner since the stat was first tracked in 2006. He also had the most pressures (16) and pass-rush snaps (53) among corners this year. When McDuffie is in on the pass rush, quarterbacks are completing just 46% of their passes with a 4.2 yards per attempt average. They've also thrown two interceptions and zero touchdowns. If defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is looking to throw Purdy off of his game with the corner blitz, you'll likely hear McDuffie's name a ton in Super Bowl LVIII.
