Chiefs position review: Offensive line
Will the Chiefs add at offensive line next week? It's complicated.
[Editor’s note: KC Sports Network writers Herbie Teope and Tyler Brown look at the Chiefs’ position groups on both sides of the ball with a series of articles ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.]
The Kansas City Chiefs do not exactly have a void of talent along the offensive line, but they do not have a whole lot of answers either. Two-thirds of the offensive line will get their first runway in a full NFL season, which has the fanbase and media labeling the unit as a question mark.
It is not for a lack of investment either. Beginning with the left tackle position, quarterback Patrick Mahomes' blind spot, Kansas City just made a big bet on Jaylon Moore, the former San Francisco 49er who just backed up future Hall of Famer Trent Williams for the last four years. Granted, he has only started 12 games in his young career after getting drafted as a fifth-round pick in 2021, but he has graded favorably, according to sites such as PFF.
With a two-year $30 million contract, he is the presumed starter, even if the Chiefs did go left tackle in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. While Moore is an unknown at this point, there is not a high bar to clear for him here, with Kinsgley Suamataia having a tumultuous rookie season, Wanya Morris struggling the more tape that he puts out and Joe Thuney being outmatched as an undersized tackle on the Super Bowl stage. Mahomes has proven capable when given competent play, such as what Donovan Smith and Orlando Brown provided.
Speaking of Suamataia, he is the presumed starter at left guard, a void left by Thuney after he fulfilled four of his five-year contract in Kansas City with admirable, even future Hall of Fame-level play. Suamataia’s struggles are well documented, and he has ginormous shoes to fill, but the fact of the matter is the second-year big man out of BYU does have exceptional size and athleticism compared to most guards in the NFL.
The three mainstays here are center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith and right tackle Jawaan Taylor. You know what you have under center, which is an all-pro and you know that Taylor will offer above-average pass-blocking at Moore’s bookend, albeit with frustrating penalties and average-to-subpar run blocking.
The one thing of note about these three is that at the beginning of this offseason, the Chiefs made waves when they traded Thuney for a future fourth, inserting Suamataia and, in turn, franchise-tagging Trey Smith. With that designation, it made the former Tennessee Volunteer the highest-paid guard in the league by more than $3 million. It remains to be seen when the inevitable extension gets done, but judging from major deals in the past, anything from July to September would not surprise. It is a decent bet to bank on that getting done, though, because I am not sure they shed Thuney if that was not the plan.
OUTLOOK
The starting unit seems mostly settled, so long as the offseason goes according to plan. With Moore’s contract, he is the guy, given the contract, 99 out of 100 times. Even if the Chiefs drafted Ohio State’s Josh Simmons, who took a visit with them recently, it would be a perfect year to have a pseudo-redshirt season. He is coming off a serious patella injury, which is not exactly as simple to repair and recover from as an ACL. A best of both worlds would be Simmons being everything he is cracked up to be and Moore plays well. Then, all of a sudden, you have your bookends of the future.
If Simmons, or someone alike, becomes part of the plan, it would allow Kansas City to see what they have in Moore for a season, knowing they have a projected ace in the hole. If the medicals check out to the Chiefs' liking, it would be prudent not to hesitate on a guy who was getting buzz as the best offensive tackle in the draft, pre-injury.
It is also no secret that Taylor has not exactly lived up to his four-year, $80 million contract and it just so happens that the Chiefs can release him and save $20 million against the cap entering 2026. What is most likely is that Kansas City drafts a future right tackle in the second to fourth rounds of next week’s draft and takes a defensive lineman in round one. Although this draft is so littered with d-line talent that they could draft for luxury in round one and still find talent along the defensive front later on.
It also would not hurt to add a third offensive tackle to the unit for this season in case of an injury, unless they like Morris or Ethan Driskell in that role. Even if they do like Morris as more of a right tackle that could supplant Taylor in the future, though, his rookie contract is up at the end of 2026, so the cupboard could stand to be filled.
If that future right tackle comes in round two or three, you are looking at prospects such as the man who filled in for Simmons for Ohio State on their way to a National Championship, Donovan Jackson or a local KC product, Aireontae Ersery. If they choose to wait a bit later, they could target KU’s Logan Brown or Boston College’s Ozzy Trapilo. Kansas City has also brought in late-to-undrafted range tackles on top 30 visits.
As far as the interior goes, it would be somewhat of an upset to add at the position in the draft. At some point, the Chiefs have to play the players on the roster, including Suamataia. Even if he busts out at his new position, they have made investments in a strong prospect like Hunter Nourzad and took a flyer on C.J. Hanson, both drafted in the 2024 draft.
That is three now interior players taken just a year ago and with them, along with Moore, Humphrey, Smith, Taylor, Morris, Driskell, amongst others, they are already more than 10 deep. This forces a numbers game in terms of who can even make this roster, so they may not add talent along the offensive line at all in the draft unless they envision a future starting left or right tackle.
