The Chiefs’ Offensive Line Will Be ‘the Five Best Guys’ In Week 1

Throughout the era of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the “next-man-up mentality” has applied to one position group more than any other on the way to three Super Bowl titles: the offensive line.

Who could forget Mahomes’ de facto bodyguard, Cameron Erving, starting at left tackle for eight games during the 2019 season, filling in for Eric Fisher? Veteran Stefen Wisniewski filled in as the starting left guard for Andrew Wylie for all three playoff games that year, including Super Bowl LIV.

Guard Nick Allegretti was a reliable backup during the 2022 regular season, starting three games and playing 262 snaps at right or left guard before returning to the bench, earning the ring that came with a win in Super Bowl LVII.

Even Wanya Morris — whom the Chiefs traded away this offseason — started four games during the 2023 season at left tackle before handing the reins back to veteran Donovan Smith through Super Bowl LVIII.

The point is: the Chiefs are familiar with working around injuries on the offensive line and still competing at the top of the NFL.

However, the next man up usually has more experience than rookie offensive lineman Kahlil Benson, who was signed during rookie minicamp tryouts in May and has spent time at three different positions along the offensive line during his first NFL preseason: right tackle, right guard, and now left tackle.

“I’m not telling you that,” Reid responded when pushed about Benson at left tackle. “But we’re comfortable with Kahlil on either side; he has been playing the left side, so I feel comfortable with that. We’ll end up playing the five best guys, and right now, he is one of them.”

“If he has to be the left tackle, then he’s the left tackle,” Reid added. “And we roll with it. That’s just how it goes.”

During head coach Andy Reid’s press conference on Tuesday, headlined by the reveal that there’s “a good chance” left tackle Josh Simmons does not play Week 1, Reid all but said Benson is the next man up, citing that he has been on the blind side during recent practices.

According to Pro Football Focus, Benson did not line up at left tackle for any collegiate snaps during his four seasons playing for the University of Indiana and the University of Colorado.

• 42 snaps at left guard
• 967 snaps at right guard
• 1,653 snaps at right tackle
• 2 snaps as an in-line tight end

Reid was firm in his stance that Benson is one of the team’s five best offensive linemen (in the case that Simmons is unavailable), but does the team know how good he is at left tackle? It feels as if the coaching staff would know more about Benson as a right tackle, subsequently putting veteran Jaylon Moore at left tackle.

So no swap may indicate the team’s confidence that Simmons will return soon and that they are unwilling to shake up two spots on the offensive line for a short-term issue. That’s pure speculation, but it’s logical, given that a more severe injury would have likely resulted in Simmons landing on the Reserve/Injured list at the beginning of the season.

However, is that worth starting such an unknown on the blindside of Mahomes, who will be in his first live action since the devastating knee injury last December? As a reminder, the two-time MVP did not take any snaps in the preseason.

It’s clear that Benson’s “dominant physical traits,” a quote from Chiefs’ offensive line coach Andy Heck during this preseason, enthralled the coaching staff enough to want him on the field.

Those strengths seem to come as a run blocker, but there is evidence from preseason Week 2 — in which he played right tackle — that sound pass protection does not come as naturally.

Those ugly reps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were excused by Reid, citing the lack of familiarity with the silent count, but the snaps came at a position Benson has been familiar with.

In Week 1, Benson will potentially be lining up at left tackle, a position he hasn’t played since at least high school (if then), against one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. Denver Broncos’ outside linebacker Nik Bonitto lined up on the right edge of the defensive formation for 86% of his defensive snaps last season, according to PFF. There were some games he exclusively aligned over the left tackle.

An alternative to Benson would be Diego Pounds, a rookie left tackle the team acquired from the Baltimore Ravens during cutdown week. Over three years as a starting left tackle in college football, Pounds totaled 2,651 snaps on the left edge. This preseason, all 58 of Pounds’ snaps came on the blind side of the Ravens’ quarterbacks.

That experience compared to Benson’s doesn’t seem to move the needle for Reid, who told local media on Wednesday that Pounds needs more time under his belt.

But the bottom line is both options are first-year players, rookies. The rise of Benson as the potential right tackle has not inspired a lot of confidence about Moore, either.

There was a lot of conversation this offseason about the Chiefs potentially needing to bolster the offensive tackle position. General manager Brett Veach and the front office did not add to that group in free agency, the draft, or the wave of undrafted free agents to close out draft weekend.

Benson, signed after tryouts in rookie minicamp, is one of the Chiefs’ “best five guys” right now after one injury. It remains to be seen if that makes the front office look smart or foolish.