The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line is undoubtedly their most pressing issue this offseason. Although the Chiefs could use help at other positions, no unit on their team faces as many questions as their offensive line. It has been the primary focus of the Chiefs front office.
Not only did the Chiefs’ offensive line play their worst game of the season in the biggest game, but the Chiefs also got rid of one of their best offensive linemen earlier this offseason, making matters worse for the beleaguered unit. Kansas City’s issues on the line are glaring.
Jared Dubin of CBS Sports listed some of the most intriguing offseason free agent signings from around the league. He believes the Chiefs’ addition of offensive lineman Jaylon Moore is one free agency addition worth keeping an eye on because of what all the Chiefs had to do to land him.
The Chiefs are entrusting a career-long backup tackle to protect the best quarterback in the NFL and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. The move could undoubtedly work out for the Chiefs, but they must find a way to get better production out of Moore than he has shown.
“The Chiefs going out and paying Moore — who has been a backup throughout his entire four-year career — to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side is, technically, really interesting. Maybe not in a good way. But it’s definitely something to which we need to devote a lot of attention,” Dubin said.
“Mahomes got extremely frustrated with his left tackle play this past season, to the point that the Chiefs felt that they had to move one of the best guards in the NFL outside for the first time in his career. Moore has given up 36 pressures on 446 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, an 8.1% pressure rate. That’s … not great. Kansas City is betting on some major improvement.”
Kansas City’s offseason will be judged on its ability to fix its offensive line. It would be a shame for the Chiefs to continue lining Mahomes up behind a subpar offensive line. The Chiefs have a generational quarterback under center; they must do a better job protecting their investment.