ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons in more than 20 years. The process of trying to break that streak begins at Missouri Western State University on Saturday, when the Chiefs begin training camp.

Here are five issues to watch at camp as they attempt to return to the postseason:

Offensive line continuity: At camp last year, the Chiefs constantly shuffled offensive linemen in and out of their starting lineup and never settled on a true starting five. They wound up starting nine different line combinations, though a severe rash of injuries had something to do with that, and line play suffered because of the instability. This year, they come into camp with a starting five consisting of tackles Eric Fisher and Mitch Schwartz, guards Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Parker Ehinger, and center Mitch Morse. Coach Andy Reid has indicated the Chiefs could be more willing than they were last year to keep the line intact. If so, that could result in better line play when the regular season begins.

Jamaal Charles: It’s not a good sign that Charles, according to Reid, won’t be ready for practice when the Chiefs open camp. Charles tore his ACL in October, but the Chiefs indicated as they went through the offseason that he would be ready for the start of camp. It won’t be a problem for the Chiefs or Charles if he misses a few days of practice, but at some point, he needs to get in his work if he’s going to be effective when the regular season begins. There’s also no guarantee Charles will return as the same player he was before the injury. Charles will be 30 in December.

Untested players in the secondary: At no other position group are the Chiefs taking more of a leap of faith than at defensive back. The Chiefs will open camp with Phillip Gaines starting at cornerback, Daniel Sorensen starting at safety and Steven Nelson as their nickelback. None of those players has yet established himself as a consistent NFL player, though Gaines was on his way toward doing that before tearing his ACL early last season. How they respond could determine how strong the Chiefs are defensively. The situation will be eased when franchise player Eric Berry signs his contract, reports to camp and assumes his normal starting spot at safety. The Chiefs lost two of last year’s top defensive backs to free agency, cornerback Sean Smith to the Raiders and safety Tyvon Branch to the Cardinals. A third such player, Husain Abdullah, retired.

Tyreek Hill: Charles will presumably return to the Chiefs’ lineup at some point, but they didn’t really suffer without him last year. The Chiefs won their final 10 regular-season games and another in the playoffs, and replacements Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware combined to rush for more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. The only new offensive skill player with a chance to have an immediate impact is Hill, a wide receiver and a fifth-round draft pick. Hill is fast, and the Chiefs will look during camp for ways to get him the ball. If Hill can be a productive slot receiver, that would add a dimension to the Chiefs’ offense they’ve lacked. They haven’t gotten much from either of the players who went before him at that position, Dexter McCluster and De’Anthony Thomas.

Backup quarterback: For the first time since Reid joined the Chiefs as coach in 2013, the Chiefs have competition for their No. 2 quarterback spot. Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray are vying for the position vacated when Chase Daniel departed for the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent. Starter Alex Smith has been remarkably durable since joining the Chiefs, missing only one game in his three seasons because of injury. But that means the Chiefs are due to have some bad luck with quarterback injuries and may need their backup quarterback to help them to one or more victories this season.