Despite their best efforts, no team is perfect at this stage of the NFL offseason, and the he Kansas City Chiefs are no exception. They’ve made a clear effort to plug the gaping hole at left tackle and secured a draft class that praised by media circles league-wide. The team is positioned to be stronger than it was a year ago, but key questions remain.
Is left guard the last stand for Kingsley Suamataia
Last season, the Chiefs selected offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia from Brigham Young with the 63rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He won the starting left tackle job after competing with Wanya Morris in the offseason, but after two brutal starts, Suamataia was quickly pulled from the lineup. He played significant snaps in just two more contests the remainder of the season. Fortunately for him, he had a solid Week 18 performance at left guard in the regular season finale with the Denver Broncos.
The second-year man is the favorite to be Kansas City’s long-term starter at left guard if he can fend off veteran interior offensive lineman Mike Caliendo. A rocky 2024 start begs the question of whether Kingsley will be on a short leash again in his sophomore campaign. In theory, his athletic limitations are less likely to be exposed inside, but time will tell if he can avoid being a liability in blindside pass protection. With one question mark already at left tackle, further instability on the left guard position is a recipe for disaster.
Can the Chiefs’ defensive line sustain a consistent pass rush?
On the other side of the football, the Kansas City Chiefs made significant investments into bolstering the defensive line this offseason. The team signed veteran Jerry Tillery in mid March and drafted Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte on Day 2 of the draft. Tillery has posted just 12.5 sacks in his six-year playing career. The two rookies will need time to adjust to the NFL game. Coming off a season where the team finished 19th in the NFL in sacks, it’s fair to wonder if the team can mount a successful pass rush in 2025.
Veteran Mike Danna struggled last year, and Charles Omenihu played just a third of the season after returning from the torn ACL that cost him the end of his 2023 season. All-Pro Chris Jones and budding edge George Karlaftis lead the group as the team’s best pass rushers, but is the supporting cast strong enough to generate pressure on a regular basis?
Can the secondary replace the leadership and acumen of Justin Reid?
Success comes at a cost in the National Football League. Kansas City faced some tough roster choices heading into the offseason—none bigger than the decision not to extend veteran safety Justin Reid. He went on to sign a three-year deal with the New Orleans Saints. Kansas City has high hopes for second-year safety Jaden Hicks, but it’s not unreasonable to think Year Two might be too soon for him to fully replace what Reid brought to this defense.
Hicks flashed some athleticism, on-ball production, and burst that are reasons to be excited about his future, but Reid brought leadership and a football acumen that don’t typically come naturally to 22-year-old defensive players. The team still has Bryan Cook and hedged its bet by bringing back veteran ball-hawking safety Mike Edwards, but it’s unclear if the two of them are up to the task of Reid’s prior stewardship of the secondary.
In the coming weeks, we’ll start to get answers to some of these questions. A key factor in player development is coaching, and in two of these areas, they’re in good hands with defensive line coach Joe Cullen and secondary coach Dave Merritt. The hope is that offensive line coach Andy Heck’s track record with offensive guards extends to Suamataia. If the Chiefs can answer just two of these questions, they’ll continue to be the team to beat in the AFC.
