In the NFL, the offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link—and right now, the Kansas City Chiefs have a pretty glaring one.

To get why this is a big deal, let’s rewind a bit. The Chiefs’ front office clearly wasn’t thrilled with how their line held up last season. Patrick Mahomes was running for his life more than he should’ve been, and it was wearing on him.

So, they got aggressive this offseason. They shipped out All-Pro guard Joe Thuney, slapped the franchise tag on Trey Smith, scooped up Jaylon Moore in free agency, and dropped a first-round pick on Josh Simmons out of Ohio State.

Moore is penciled in at left tackle, with Simmons still getting back to full strength after a nasty patellar tendon tear ended his college run early. Creed Humphrey’s holding it down at center, Smith’s locked in at right guard, and Jawaan Taylor’s back at right tackle.

But if you’re keeping score, that left guard spot—Thuney’s old gig—is still up in the air. And right now, it looks like 2024 second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia is the front-runner to land it.

And here’s the rub: that could be a problem.

Chiefs OL Kingsley Suamataia is Offense’s Weakest Link Ahead of Training Camp

Suamataia struggled in his limited reps last year—just 198 offensive snaps—but they were rough. His PFF grade of 37.9 was the worst among any Chiefs player who logged over 100 snaps.

Sure, Year 2 is a chance to level up. Maybe he will turn it around. But let’s not pretend the Chiefs can just cross their fingers and hope. As it stands, defenses are going to smell blood in the water and do everything they can to isolate Suamataia and make him the weak spot.

And the thing is, one weak link is all it takes to blow up an entire line. We’ve seen this movie before: Mahomes scrambling, extending plays, doing magic—but taking more hits than he should. That’s not sustainable.

To be fair, Suamataia won’t be gifted the job. He’s got to earn it in camp. And the Chiefs clearly like his upside—they used the 63rd pick on him just last year. But upside doesn’t buy you time in a Super Bowl window.

Bottom line: if Suamataia doesn’t take a big leap, he could be the guy holding the whole operation back. The Chiefs are trying to get back to their high-flying offensive ways, and that starts with keeping No. 15 clean. No weak links. No soft spots. No excuses.