{"id":193970,"date":"2025-07-09T16:46:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T16:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/193970\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T16:46:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T16:46:10","slug":"chiefs-roster-what-will-be-the-best-offensive-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/193970\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Roster: What will be the best offensive line?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the third straight year, I\u2019m considering the 10 biggest questions I have for the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> for 2025. <\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 fans are well aware that the team\u2019s 2020 and 2024 squads sputtered out in their respective Super Bowls largely because they couldn\u2019t move the ball. In each case, struggles on the offensive line were a big part of the problem.<\/p>\n

So in each successive offseason, the team made significant moves on the line. In 2021, it signed left guard Joe Thuney<\/a>, traded for left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.<\/a> and drafted two young stars: center Creed Humphrey<\/a> and right guard Trey Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While their moves weren\u2019t as dramatic this year, the Chiefs will go into the coming season with a new left tackle and left guard. After trading Thuney<\/a> to the Chicago Bears<\/a>, they signed tackle Jaylon Moore<\/a> \u2014 formerly with the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> \u2014 and selected former Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons<\/a> with the 32nd pick of the NFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By this time in 2021, we (mostly) knew what the offensive line would look like. While right tackle was a question \u2014 Lucas Niang and Andrew Wylie would compete for the spot in training camp \u2014 the other four spots were set. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the case in 2025. While Humphrey, Smith (and right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who was signed in 2023<\/a>) are the clear starters at their positions, who will be the Day 1 starter at left tackle \u2014 or at left guard? What will be the in-season contingency plan for each position? What should we expect to see in training camp \u2014 and in Week 1?<\/p>\n

Left tackle<\/p>\n

Going into camp, this is the most interesting position. Simmons is recovering from a torn patellar tendon, but has been cleared to participate in practices. Under the circumstances, it seems likely that Moore (with a dozen NFL starts under his belt) will get the first crack at starting reps. <\/p>\n

But how long of a leash will the veteran have? While the Chiefs aren\u2019t paying Moore an outrageous amount of money for the position he plays, they did invest real money into his contract. If Moore has a great camp, that will be great. But what if his performances are up-and-down? How long would it take for Kansas City to make a change? Would the team be willing to do it before Week 1?<\/p>\n

How Simmons performs will be a big part of the equation. We simply don\u2019t know how the rookie will look in his first action after the injury he suffered in October. If he immediately performs as he did with the Buckeyes in 2024, there\u2019s zero doubt in my mind he will be the starter \u2014 but that\u2019s not a guarantee. Even after he\u2019s fully recovered, there will still be hurdles for the rookie to clear. <\/p>\n

So, how quickly can Simmons get up to speed? Do the Chiefs even want him to start Week 1, or would they prefer to give him more time to get into peak shape?<\/p>\n

How Moore and Simmons play in training camp (and preseason) will be huge factors in determining what the Chiefs will do at left tackle.<\/p>\n

Left guard<\/p>\n

It now seems clear that second-year player Kingsley Suamataia will begin training camp as the starter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But this might be a mistake. I liked Suamataia as a prospect \u2014 and I still have some hope for him \u2014 but he was an abject failure as the team\u2019s left tackle in 2024. While there\u2019s a chance he\u2019s just not cut out to be a left tackle, his technique (and get-off from his stance) proved to be well below NFL standards. Maybe it will be easier for him at guard, but he still must prove he can play the position.<\/p>\n

A lot will be riding on Suamataia being ready to start \u2014 especially if the starting left tackle is a rookie. If he can\u2019t do it, who will be up next? Head coach Andy Reid has acknowledged that Mike Caliendo will also be competing to become the left guard<\/a>. But if Simmons is ready to go, could we see Moore move inside? Could it be someone else on the roster \u2014 such as Wanya Morris, Hunter Nourzad or C.J. Hanson?<\/p>\n

Right tackle<\/p>\n

Reid (and offensive line coach Andy Heck) always say their goal is to have their five best offensive linemen on the field. Let\u2019s say that by Week 1, Simmons is starting \u2014 and playing well \u2014 at left tackle, while Suamataia is holding on at left guard. But on the other side, Taylor continues to struggle. Is it possible that the Chiefs could move Moore into Taylor\u2019s place? Will the Chiefs be willing to pull the plug on a player who will count $27.3 million against the cap this season?<\/p>\n

If Taylor\u2019s play doesn\u2019t improve, I\u2019ll be keeping my eye on this potential storyline.<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/p>\n

Given the investments Kansas City has made in them, I would love for Simmons, Suamataia, Humphrey, Smith and Taylor to be the offensive line\u2019s starting five. But it\u2019s very possible that this won\u2019t be the best group. There will be real competition at multiple spots \u2014 and we could even see changes during the season.<\/p>\n

One thing is certain: the Chiefs will leave no stone unturned. Just as we saw last year, if something isn\u2019t working, they will make changes. It may take much of the season for things to shake out \u2014 but as long as the offensive line is stable going into the playoffs, the team will have a shot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the third straight year, I\u2019m considering the 10 biggest questions I have for the Kansas City Chiefs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[921,3937,1873,346,7,29,1480,1193,1128,6,1127,151,1647,24,1199,1124],"class_list":{"0":"post-193970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-arrowhead","9":"tag-be","10":"tag-best","11":"tag-chiefs","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-front-page","14":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-game-information","15":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-roster","16":"tag-line","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-offensive","19":"tag-pride","20":"tag-roster","21":"tag-the","22":"tag-what","23":"tag-will"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114824294491216776","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}