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imagn's Denny Medley

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs were the two teams who were successfully able to make it through the NFL gauntlet this season and arrive at Super Bowl LV. This matchup will be highlighted by the quarterbacks -- and for good reason. Patrick Mahomes is the league's wunderkind who appears ready to establish his dynasty, and then there's Tom Brady, who guided the New England Patriots dynasty for two decades. Now 43 and on a different team, Brady wants to further his case as the greatest of all time by winning the Super Bowl as a Buccaneer. But what about the supporting casts that Mahomes and Brady have? It's hard to imagine pinning a Super Bowl loss on either of the two quarterbacks, so maybe we should take a look at the position groups the championship game could come down to.

Below, we will rank the Chiefs and Buccaneers position groups -- from their wide receivers and tight ends to their special teams. It should go without saying that both of these teams are elite, which is why they are gearing up to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday. But let's go ahead and try to rank these talented position groups. Coming in at No. 1 on our list is the Chiefs' offensive weapons. 

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1. Chiefs offensive weapons

Mahomes has experienced unprecedented success in his first few seasons, and while much of that success can be pinned on his big arm and ability to make any kind of throw, his receivers deserve plenty of credit as well. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are elite playmakers, and then it's also nice to have speedsters like Mecole Hardman and Sammy Watkins. Even Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle have made some plays when their numbers have been called. The deciding factor for putting the Chiefs' weapons at No. 1 on our list is how Hill and Kelce have been playing lately. In the AFC Championship game, Hill exploded for 172 yards on nine catches while Kelce caught 13 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. They just became the first duo to have two games of 100-plus receiving yards in a single postseason! When you throw in the fact that Hill went off for 269 yards and three scores on 13 receptions against the Buccaneers earlier this year, we feel comfortable saying they are the best position group in the Super Bowl. 

2. Buccaneers offensive weapons

Right underneath the Chiefs' weapons we have the Bucs' receivers and tight ends. Brady arguably has three No. 1 receivers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and then Antonio Brown. I also think the rest of their wide receiving corps is underrated, as Scotty Miller has stepped up whenever Bruce Arians has called upon him and Tyler Johnson has shined at times with his route-running ability and sticky hands. By the way, keep your eye on this Johnson kid moving forward. He caught just 12 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the regular season, but the former three-time first team All-Big Ten wideout has a bright future in the league.

As for the tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate are both reliable targets. Gronk may no longer be the freak athlete he was with the Patriots, but you absolutely have to account for him on every play. Interestingly enough, Gronk put up season-high numbers against the Chiefs in Week 12, as he caught six passes for 106 yards. This will be Super Bowl No. 6 that Brady and Gronk have played in together, and the star tight end has had some success in the big game. He caught six of seven targets for 87 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LII, and also recorded nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.

3. Buccaneers linebackers

Is this the best linebacking corps in the NFL? I think so. Shaquil Barrett is one of the best pass-rushers in the league, Lavonte David and Devin White are elite inside linebackers and then Jason Pierre-Paul has been playing out of his mind recently as well. In the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, Pierre-Paul and Barrett combined for five sacks on Aaron Rodgers. This is a group that is aggressive and loves to fly around on the field. If the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl, it could be because of the play of these guys.

4. Buccaneers offensive line

Pro Football Focus was high on how the Buccaneers offensive line performed in 2020, as they ranked them No. 5 in their final rankings. According to them, Brady was under pressure on just 24 percent of his dropbacks in 2020, which ranked fourth-lowest in the NFL. Ali Marpet is a stud, Ryan Jensen would be my No. 1 overall pick in a street fight and then rookie tackle Tristan Wirfs had an impressive first season. He's the future anchor of this group.   

5. Chiefs defensive line

Tanoh Kpassagnon, Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi and Frank Clark. That is a formidable group. Since the Chiefs roll with four defensive linemen unlike the Buccaneers, this is where they get their pass rush from. Jones is arguably the most unblockable player in the league, and then Clark has been playing well as of late. He accounted for two of the Chiefs' four sacks on Josh Allen in the AFC Championship game. Pro Football Focus ranks this unit No. 22 in the league, but Jones and Clark really have the potential to blow up any play on any down. 

6. Buccaneers defensive line

The linebackers and pass-rushers for the Bucs get more attention than the defensive line, but this group has been impressive this season. Rakeem Nunez-Roches stepped in nicely for Vita Vea's when he went down with injury, William Gholston is a consistent presence and then Ndamukong Suh has turned back the clock. Suh may be 34 now, but he recorded 44 combined tackles and six sacks in the regular season -- which marked the most quarterback takedowns he had recorded since the 2015 season. 

7. Chiefs secondary

Coming into the 2020 season, I had legitimate questions about the Chiefs' cornerbacks, but both Bashaud Breeland and and Charvarius Ward had great campaigns. Additionally, Rashad Fenton and L'Jarius Sneed also stepped up when given chances. Sneed even was PFF's highest-graded rookie cornerback despite being the 16th taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. We all knew that the safeties would be incredible coming into this year, however. Tyrann Mathieu recorded a career-high six interceptions in the regular season and then another one in the playoffs, Juan Thornhill looks like he's an up-and-coming player with a bright future and then Daniel Sorensen is a versatile, aggressive athlete that can wear several different hats on defense. I was very impressed with this unit this year. 

8. Chiefs offensive line

It was tough trying to figure out where to put the Chiefs' offensive front on this list. On one hand, you would like to have Kelechi Osemele, Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher healthy, but on the other, injuries haven't stopped this group from doing their jobs well. It looked like this line was going to be a major problem after they allowed four sacks against the New Orleans Saints in Week 15, but Mahomes has been sacked just one time since then. When Fisher exited the AFC Championship with his Achilles injury, Mike Remmers moved from right tackle to left and Andrew Wylie moved to right tackle, so the Chiefs may decide to stay with that lineup change for Super Bowl LV. They have their work cut out for them against this tenacious Bucs pass-rush, but this is a capable group. PFF ranked this offensive line at No. 11 in their final rankings. 

9. Chiefs running backs

Clyde Edwards-Helaire looked like he was on his way to a rookie of the year-like campaign, but then injuries got in the way. Still, he rushed for 803 yards and four touchdowns in 13 starts. The LSU product has been banged up as of late, but finally became a full participant in practice last week after dealing with ankle and hip injuries. This means that he should be near 100 percent for the Super Bowl, and could end up playing a big role on offense. While he hasn't done much in a Chiefs uniform, Kansas City also has three-time Pro Bowler Le'Veon Bell, and then Darrell Williams. I have always felt like Williams has been underrated, and he has rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown in two postseason games this year. With Edwards-Helaire returning and the Chiefs having averaged more rushing yards per game in both the postseason and the regular season, they get the nod over the Bucs' running backs on this list. 

10. Buccaneers secondary 

This group is fun to watch, and have gotten better as the season has gone on. Sean Murphy-Bunting only recorded one pick in the regular season, but has caught an interception in all three playoff games! Carlton Davis, Jordan Whitehead, Mike Edwards and Jamel Dean have all played well this season, and the Bucs found a true playmaker in rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Like the Bucs' linebackers, this group likes to fly around and make plays, which sometimes gets them into trouble. They allowed the 12th-most passing yards per game this season and it's possible to beat the corners downfield and get behind the safeties. Just ask Hill.

11. Buccaneers running backs

Ronald Jones statistically had a career year, as he rushed for 978 yards and seven touchdowns. He has taken a bit of a back seat to Leonard Fournette in the postseason, however. The former No. 4 overall pick has rushed for 211 yards and three touchdowns in the postseason, and also has been a factor in the receiving game with 14 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Brady is going to try to get the ball to his talented wideouts on Sunday, but maybe it's the running backs we should be paying attention to. 

12. Chiefs linebackers

Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson are a solid duo even though you may not hear much about them on a national scale. Against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game, Hitchens recorded a 78.1 overall PFF grade, a season-high 72.5 run defense ranking and a season-high 73 coverage rating. Hitchens and Wilson will play a large role in controlling the short middle of the field come Sunday. 

13. Chiefs special teams

Harrison Butker is one of the better kickers in the NFL, but he hasn't been perfect this postseason. He is 4 of 5 on his field goal attempts and also missed an extra point. Punter Tommy Townsend has been called upon just once all postseason, and landed his punt inside the 20-yard line. Pringle and Hardman have both fielded kicks this postseason, and Hardman had a bad fumble last week that led to the Bills acquiring a 9-0 lead early on. When he actually catches the ball and has some space to work with, however, he's an electric returner.

14. Buccaneers special teams

Kicker Ryan Succop landed on his feet with the Buccaneers after six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, and he converted on 28 of 31 field goal attempts in 2020. He has made all eight field goal attempts this postseason, but did miss an extra point. Punter Bradley Pinion has landed six of his nine punts inside the 20, and then Jaydon Mickens has picked up 147 kickoff return yards on seven attempts. Last week against the Packers, he had a nice 43-yard return. Mickens is solid, but wouldn't you love to see Brown back there?