The Kansas City Chiefs were shellacked in Super Bowl LIX, and in order to prevent the kind of barrage Patrick Mahomes was forced to withstand, while sacked six times, general manager Brett Veach and the front office may need to hit the 2025 NFL Draft out of the park.
Kansas City has a glaring weakness along the offensive line, and while retaining guard Trey Smith and signing Jaylon Moore could be a step in the right direction, offensive tackle is still a bit of an uncertainty and trading away All-Pro guard Joe Thuney isn’t going to make the line any stronger.
Ahead of this month’s draft, NFL Media’s Jeffri Chadiha put together a list of each team’s ‘burning question’ ahead of the draft, including whether the Chiefs have solved their offensive tackle woes.
“The Chiefs obviously had major issues at left tackle last season,” Chadiha writes. “They started three different players at that position before moving left guard Joe Thuney to that spot in Week 15 — but it’s hard to know what that position will look like come fall. The Chiefs’ most obvious option, free-agent signee Jaylon Moore, only started 12 games in his four seasons as a backup left tackle in San Francisco.
“Kingsley Suamataia, the 2024 second-round pick who started last season at left tackle, is now competing at left guard. Of course, the trade that sent Thuney to Chicago also means there is no insurance plan in place if left tackle becomes a Dumpster fire once again. By the way, this doesn’t mean the Chiefs can’t improve at that spot. It’s just that there isn’t a whole lot to bet on at this stage of the offseason.”
Kansas City’s actions this offseason seem to telegraph that taking a tackle early is going to be a priority for general manager Brett Veach and the Chiefs, in order to remain among the teams to beat in the AFC.
The Eagles’ defense exposed the cracks up front and the damage that can be done even to a quarterback of Mahomes’ prowess by a relentless pass rush, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the Chiefs take at least one offensive tackle in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft.
For More Football News:
Follow Matt Lombardo on Threads at @MattLombardoNFL. To read more of our articles and in-depth NFL coverage, click here.
