The Kansas City Chiefs will soon pack their bags for St. Joseph, Missouri, where they’ll commence their 2025 training camp. There, they’ll lay the foundation for the upcoming year as players and coaches work toward another championship season in Super Bowl LX.

Decision-makers in Kansas City will look to pare down the team’s 90-man offseason roster, compiling the best possible 53-man roster and a 16-man practice squad. How will things play out as this group aims to end the season on top in 2025?

Today, we’re examining the offensive line position, a position group that ultimately fell short in the team’s pursuit of a third consecutive Super Bowl title. It also happens to be a position group that features the two players most vital to Patrick Mahomes’ success in 2025

Chiefs rookie OT Josh Simmons and free agent OT Jaylon Moore are the most vital players to Patrick Mahomes’ success in 2025

The Chiefs’ strategy for the 2025 left tackle position was to cast a wide net, aiming for more effective depth than they had the previous season. First, they signed former San Francisco 49ers OT Jaylon Moore on a two-year deal. During the 2024 NFL season, Moore started five games in place of Trent Williams with 15 game appearances, allowing just one sack and 10 total pressures, with no penalties, in 271 offensive snaps.

In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chiefs successfully secured their top draft target in Ohio State LT Josh Simmons after trading down a spot in Round 1. A season-ending patellar tendon injury and some unfounded character claims spooked teams from Simmons, who many believed would have been the top offensive tackle in the draft had he not been injured. Those injury concerns have since been alleviated, with Simmons expected to be a full practice participant in training camp.

It doesn’t matter which of these two players wins the starting left tackle job; rather, it matters that both of them can provide solid left tackle play at various junctures of the season. Last year, they couldn’t get that out of Kingsley Suamataia or Wanya Morris. They might have been able to get it out of D.J. Humphries had he not been hurt after his first start. The team’s best solution at left tackle was to move Joe Thuney from the left guard spot to the left tackle position, inserting Mike Caliendo into the starting lineup and overall weakening their offensive line. That can’t happen again in 2025 because more often than not, your offensive line is only as good as its weakest link.

Kansas City needed a two-player solution to the left tackle position, and on paper, they have just that. Ideally, the rookie Simmons will win the starting job and looks like a franchise left tackle. Moore can slot in as the best insurance policy money can buy at left tackle, and the Chiefs will be OK with that.

How many offensive linemen will the Chiefs keep on the 53-man roster in 2025?

The unproven nature of the left tackle and left guard positions may lead the Chiefs to lean into a roster composition with as many as 10 offensive linemen. Right now, I expect that seven players are locks for the 53-man roster: Josh Simmons, Kingsley Suamataia, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Jawaan Taylor, Jaylon Moore, and Hunter Nourzad.

That leaves the following players competing for the 2-3 remaining spots: Mike Caliendo, Wanya Morris, Ethan Driskell, Chu Godrick, C.J. Hanson, Dalton Cooper, Esa Pole, and Joey Lombard.

Of the seven players I consider locks, three offensive tackles — Simmons, Taylor, and Moore — have each dealt with recent injuries. Knowing what happened at the left tackle position last season, I feel like the Chiefs could keep 1-2 more players at the offensive tackle position just for Peace of Mind. Right now, I lean Morris and Driskell, but they could just as easily land on Cooper or Pole after training camp. Godrick is pretty much a shoo-in for the practice squad again on the international player pathway exemption.

As for the interior offensive line, Caliendo has a leg up on the competition. Hanson needs to prove that he can take a step forward after a forgettable rookie season, during which he made the jump from Holy Cross to the NFL. Lombard has already accomplished the most challenging part — making an offseason roster as a tryout player. Can he continue to put his best foot forward as 53-man roster cuts approach?

There are many questions yet to be answered in this position group, which is both exciting and unnerving. Should things go accordingly, the offensive line is expected to be a strength across the board for Kansas City in 2025, after it proved to be a fatal weakness in 2024