Entering the 2025 season, one of the biggest questions facing the Kansas City Chiefs was about the young players who would occupy the left side of the offensive line. At left tackle, the team would start rookie Josh Simmons — and at left guard, inexperienced second-year player Kingsley Suamataia would take over for veteran Joe Thuney.

While their performance has immediate consequences, their long-term development is also crucial to the team’s future. Now that center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith are locked into expensive long-term contracts, the left side of Kansas City’s line needs to be an affordable one that is built through the draft.

So after two games, let’s evaluate where they stand.

Kingsley Suamataia

Early in the matchup, one of Suamataia’s best reps came on a scramble.

Good stuff by the Chiefs young OL on the left side. Simmons uses a jump set (good lunge while not getting too far over toes) to get the edge to widen rush path. Kingsley uses an aggressive two-hand set, DT pulls his jersey, 76 resets inside hand and opens hips to push upfield pic.twitter.com/j0Yyxrydit

— Nate Christensen (@natech32) September 16, 2025

On this play, he uses an aggressive two-hand jump set to widen the defensive tackle. When the defender tries to rip through, Suamataia releases his inside hand, resets it on the hip, opens his hips and slides upfield to create space in the middle.

That’s good progress for a player who needed to refine his hand usage at guard.

Suamataia also put together multiple solid pass sets in the first half.

This is subtle but good stuff by Kingsley. Doesn't overset out of his stance, doesn't lunge to get contact. Stays patient at the jump, slides into a strong punch that slows the defender, forces the spin, then slides his feet to finish. Good patience pic.twitter.com/qBtHwFC0Py

— Nate Christensen (@natech32) September 16, 2025

Here, he keeps his hands down after the snap — a nice change of pace to keep the rusher off balance. He then mirrors the defender’s feet, slides inside, forces a spin and switches hands to cut him off outside.

At Suamataia’s size, that kind of lateral quickness is impressive. When he locks onto a block, he can sustain it.

One of the exciting aspects of Suamataia’s profile was how his size and athleticism could boost the running game.

On this frontside double-team with Creed Humphrey, Suamataia’s punch clears the A-gap, helping to spring a 7–8 yard run. Without it, that’s a one-yard gain.

Later, he shows even more lateral quickness, cutting off a 2i and using torque to move him down the line. With Simmons assisting, Suamataia moves the defender across multiple gaps.

It’s a great example of what the athleticism of these two players can accomplish together.

Still, the film shows inconsistencies. The biggest issue — whether at tackle or guard — is recovery. When Suamataia wins, he dominates. When he loses, it’s often ugly.

On this blitz pickup, he identifies the linebacker correctly, but completely whiffs on his punch, gets stunned inside and is too slow to recover.

Here’s another example where he is slow to recover. Suamataia loses at contact, but can’t demonstrate the balance or quickness to reset and protect the pocket. That’s an area he must improve.

Josh Simmons

Josh Simmons is an incredible athlete to watch — especially since he’s coming off a torn patellar tendon.

Watch Simmons. Vertical set, edge shows hands to cross chop. Simmons keeps his hands off, using his feet to cut the angle. After the stike, Simmons opens and tracks the inside shoulder to widen and cut off the angle. That's high-level athleticism and reaction time pic.twitter.com/iYKnLZsfjc

— Nate Christensen (@natech32) September 16, 2025

On this rep, he uses an explosive vertical set to wall off the corner. Then he reads the cross-chop, keeps his hands patient and uses his mobility to push the rusher around the arc.

That’s elite athleticism — paired with sharp reaction time.

What separates good tackles from great ones is how they recover from being off-balance — and Simmons already shows that skill.

On another play against the same cross-chop, he misses his punch but stays upright. He places his hands on the inside hip, opens his hips and still cuts off the corner.

On a play like this, many rookies would end up on the ground.

Another rep highlighted his advanced technique.

Here, Simmons combines a vertical set to take away the first path, opens his hips to square up, absorbs contact and then pulls through to push the rusher around the arc.

It’s rare for a rookie to be able to use multiple tools in one pass-protection rep.

Even when beaten initially, Simmons flashes elite recovery strength.

Absurd recovery back inside after getting beat pic.twitter.com/FhXUp8RaiK

— Nate Christensen (@natech32) September 16, 2025

Here we see him being bent at a 90-degree angle after missing a move — but he somehow maintains his grip and lateral power to hold the block long enough for Mahomes to make a deep throw.

The bottom line

You shouldn’t be able to recover from that position, but Simmons’ strength and agility make it possible.

The most encouraging thing about Suamataia is that he isn’t a liability. With all of Kansas City’s other offensive questions, the team can’t afford that. While he still has work to do with recovery, balance and consistency, the flashes are promising. If he can tilt the ratio of good-to-bad reps from 50-50 to 70-30, his move inside could stick.

For Simmons, the biggest takeaway is how good he already looks. This rookie tore his patellar tendon less than a year ago, missed offseason reps and only got back on the field at training camp — but he’s playing like a future star. His explosiveness, strength and recovery agility are uncommon for the position — and he’s already mixing in advanced techniques. While he still needs to prove his skills against top-tier defenders, the early signs are outstanding.

So far, the Chiefs’ investment in their offensive line looks good. Protecting Patrick Mahomes is always priority No. 1. Outside of right tackle, this group looks capable of doing just that.