C.J. Hanson

A seventh-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Hanson is entering his third year with the Chiefs after making three appearances last season. He logged 12 total snaps in those three games, 11 of which took place on special teams.

Prior to being drafted, Hanson played in 43 games at Holy Cross, which included 38 consecutive starts at right guard. He earned all-conference honors in both 2021 and 2022 before garnering FCS All-American recognition in 2023.

Hunter Nourzad

A fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Nourzad has appeared in 28 games over the course of his two years in Kansas City. He took the field for 11 games last season, logging significant snaps at center in Week 7 (16) and Week 18 (64). He also recorded 43 special teams snaps over the course of the year.

Prior to joining the Chiefs, Nourzad recorded starts at right tackle (20 games), center (13 games), left guard (7 games) and right guard (1 game) during his collegiate career, including 13 starts at center in 2023.

He’ll have a chance to continue carving out a role as a Swiss Army Knife of sorts heading into 2026.

Pete Nygra

An undrafted free agent signee, Nygra is an experienced player who logged at least 750 snaps at center in each of the last four seasons between Northern Illinois (2021-23) and Louisville (2024-25). He allowed just two sacks in that time.

Nygra checks in at 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds.

Josh Thompson

A rookie free agent signee from LSU, Thompson started 12 games at right guard for the Tigers last season, allowing just seven total pressures (and zero sacks) across 786 total snaps.

Prior to transferring to LSU, Thompson was a two-year starter at Northwestern, where he began his career as the Wildcats’ starting right tackle. Thompson recorded 731 snaps at that spot in 2023 before moving to guard for the 2024 campaign.

Thompson stands at 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds.

The Bottom Line

The Chiefs elected to keep nine offensive linemen for Week 1 last year, and in the two seasons prior, Kansas City kept 10. So, with that in mind, history tells us that it’s highly likely at least nine offensive linemen – and potentially 10 – will make the Chiefs’ roster to begin the 2026 season.

That group will surely include the four returning starters in Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey, Kingsley Suamataia and Josh Simmons, plus the primary contenders for the right tackle spot in Jaylon Moore and Esa Pole.

The inclusion of those six players on the roster leaves potentially three to four spots remaining for the other nine offensive linemen currently on the team. Guard Mike Caliendo seems like a good bet to make the roster considering his versatility and experience, as does fellow guard Hunter Nourzad. A strong camp by both players could push the number of available spots on the roster to just one or two.

As for those final spots, a battle worth watching at tackle will be the competition between Chu Godrick and Kahlil Benson. Godrick is a veteran of the Chiefs’ offensive system and earned some valuable playing time last year, while Benson – despite some humble beginnings as a tryout signee – was a standout of the offseason training program.

Additionally, even if Benson doesn’t make the team out of camp, players such as Caliendo and Godrick have demonstrated the value of earning a spot on the Chiefs’ practice squad as part of a long play toward eventually making an impact.

It’s all to say that the Chiefs enter 2026 with one of the best starting offensive lines in all of football, a reality that couldn’t play out a year ago due to the extensive injuries that took place throughout the unit. The quartet of Simmons, Suamataia, Humphrey and Smith is as good as any in the NFL, and if either Moore or Pole can emerge as a viable option at right tackle, this group as a whole – when healthy – has a chance to be very good.

Aside from right tackle, the depth of this unit is what will primarily be decided up in St. Joseph, and considering that the true evaluation of offensive line play can’t really begin until the padded practices get underway, the major contenders for those final few roster spots should begin to emerge as camp kicks into full gear.