The Kansas City Chiefs clearly made a mistake by letting go of offensive guard Joe Thuney in return for just a fourth-round pick from the Chicago Bears via a trade last offseason, and this time around the team faces equally perilous decisions along a shaky offensive line.
Kansas City may have shored up the left side by drafting tackle Josh Simmons in the first round last April. However, injuries and off-field concerns sidelined him for nine games during his rookie season.
Right tackle Jawaan Taylor is a prime cut candidate heading into the new league year, which begins on March 11. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have to shore up the offensive front before the return of quarterback Patrick Mahomes from the ACL/LCL injury he suffered in Week 15.
Kansas City can save $20 million against the salary cap by releasing Taylor in the coming weeks, which reads like a foregone conclusion given his dip in play in 2025 when he ranked 80th of 89 qualifying offensive tackles, per Pro Football Focus.
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Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom on Monday, February 23 cited a current general manager who linked the Chiefs to left tackle Rasheed Walker, currently of the Green Bay Packers. Walker will hit free agency next month.
“I think Big Red wants this fixed before the draft if he can,” La Canfora wrote, citing the unnamed GM. “Walker makes sense. He has the size (6-foot-6) they want on the edge. Then he can go skill guys on day one and day two (of the draft). They need more speed and twitch at receiver, tight end, running back.”
Walker was a seventh-round pick of the Packers in 2022, and while he has progressed over his four years in the league, Walker is not elite.
The 26-year-old finished last season as the 52nd-ranked offensive tackle in the league, per PFF. That is six spots higher than Simmons and considerably better than Taylor, though still slightly below league average at the premium position. However, most free-agency big boards name Walker as the best available tackle heading into the spring.
Thus, Spotrac projects his market value at $20.3 million annually, or nearly $81 million total, over a new four-year contract. Adding Walker would afford the Chiefs some optionality with the potential to create a training camp competition between he and Simmons for the LT spot, moving the other to the right side of the line when the regular season begins.
However, that is a large number to commit to a player in Walker who is probably never going to be elite. Therefore, Kansas City must decide if it’s worth a potential overpay to improve the O-line immediately, or if the team’s contention window is stronger in 2027 and beyond, which might mean drafting a young player and/or waiting for a better option via free agency or a trade one year from now.
