Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach didn’t have easy choices when it came to roster-building this offseason. The Chiefs’ offensive line was an issue throughout all of the regular season in 2024.
Kansas City was able to patch it up through the playoffs in the AFC, but the team was exposed by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl when quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times for 31 yards in the Chiefs’ 40-22 loss.
The Kansas City Chiefs had to make tough decisions on the OL
The Chiefs made a difficult decision to use the franchise tag on offensive guard Trey Smith at the expense of needing to trade four-time All-Pro Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears to save cap space before free agency.
With offensive tackle being the main issue Kansas City couldn’t fix last year with Wanya Morris and rookie (second-round pick) Kingsley Suamataia, the Chiefs signed Jaylon Moore to a two-year deal worth $30 million.
Moore, a fifth-round pick in 2021, had just 12 starts with the San Francisco 49ers in his first four seasons in the league.
Did the Chiefs make a mistake signing Jaylon Moore?
Per Mike Sando of The Athletic, an NFL executive thought the Chiefs made a mistake by signing Moore.
“Jaylon Moore has had durability issues, he has never been a front-line player and he’s been protected in a system that is not dropback-heavy, so I do not love that move,” the executive said.
Another executive thought the Chiefs made a smart decision by not overpaying for an OT.
“I’m sure some will say they did a bad job there,” another executive said, “but really, they took a $15 million (per year) shot at a guy who has upside, and if it doesn’t work out, at worst, he is going to be an overpaid swing tackle for them next year. That is not a terrible outcome. Whereas Tennessee gave Daniel Moore $50 million over two years, which was crazy to me.”
The Chiefs’ OT problem was so blatant last season that they signed D.J. Humphries in November in desperation to fix the offensive line. Kansas City wound up moving Thuney to OT instead of using Humphries, Suamataia, or Morris.
Moore doesn’t feel like a sure thing. But he was one of the best options for a Kansas City team that doesn’t have much cap space to work with and was unable to sign their top target, Ronnie Stanley.
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