How well can Kansas City’s two offseason acquistions hold down the left side of the offensive line?
For the third straight year, I’m considering the 10 biggest questions I have for the Kansas City Chiefs for 2025.
Is there a bigger question for this season’s team than what will happen at left tackle?
Ever since the Chiefs decided to let Orlando Brown Jr. move on after 2022, the position has been a revolving door. Over the two seasons since Brown left, none of the players who walked through it were able to claim the position as their own.
After a brutal Super Bowl loss that will be remembered for left guard Joe Thuney moving to the outside (while Mike Caliendo took his place at guard), the team took two big swings to fill the vacancy, signing former San Francisco 49ers’ reserve tackle Jaylon Moore to a two-year deal worth $30 million — and then selecting left tackle Josh Simmons out of Ohio State with the 32nd pick of April’s NFL Draft.
I think the Chiefs did about as well as they could have. In free agency, the options at left tackle weren’t good. I doubt that the Houston Texans’ Laremy Tunsil could ever have been traded to Kansas City. Signing Jaylon Moore (whose contract guaranteed him $21.2 million) was a much better option than getting former Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Dan Moore Jr., who inked a four-year contract worth $82 million (including $50 million guaranteed) with the Tennessee Titans. While Dan Moore is a better player, he’s not that much better.
Then in the draft, things couldn’t have gone better for the Chiefs. Before his injury last October, Simmons had outstanding tape. I almost had a top-10 grade on him, but because of the limited sample size (and the level of competition he faced), I held off. Still, getting him at the end of the first round was a huge break for Kansas City.
I considered asking whether the Chiefs have solved their left tackle dilemma. Instead, I decided on a different approach: What are the ceilings of these two moves? What are their floors?
Let’s take a look.
Jaylon Moore
It’s hard to see a wide range in what Moore’s play could be. Now 27 years old, he’s been a swing tackle his entire career. In limited snaps, his play has been fine — but it’s been nothing to write home about.
Here’s what’s worse: a swing tackle tends to train on both sides. After Mike McGlinchey moved on to the Denver Broncos in 2023, Moore (who had collected five starts over two seasons by then) should have been able to take over at right tackle. He didn’t — and that concerns me.
Just the same, there’s a chance the Chiefs saw something in Moore’s tape that they liked. Potentially — in a different system with offensive line coach Andy Heck coaching him — there’s a chance he can prove to be a capable starting left tackle.
So I see Moore’s ceiling as an average left tackle — somewhere around the league’s 16th-20th best at the position. Since Kansas City has had bottom-5 left tackle play over the last two years, that would be a significant positive for the offense.
Moore’s floor, however, is very low. We could be looking at another bottom-5 left tackle. I do feel better about Moore’s floor compared to what we saw from Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia last year, but it’s still concerning. We’ve never seen him play real snaps for an offense that passes as much as Kansas City does.
So will Moore be a competent starting tackle, or a liability the Chiefs can’t work around? Until we see him play in Kansas City, both outcomes seem plausible.
Josh Simmons
With Simmons, a wider range of outcomes seem possible. There will be two big factors contributing to his potential ceiling.
- He’s a rookie
- He’s coming off a serious injury
While there have been some recent examples of left tackles becoming instant contributors, it’s not wise to count on that. Many players who quickly transition to the league are taken higher in the draft; late first-round picks tend to take longer to become successful.
That’s because blocking NFL pass rushers is hard. For an offensive tackle, the size and strength of the pro players they’ll face is a bigger leap than at any other position. Rookies must also learn how to get out of their stances to counter the real pass-rushing moves typically seen at the next level. It takes time to master these techniques.
Nor do we know how Simmons will recover from his injury. Everyone handles rehab differently. How will he do with his? He’s not getting a full offseason of reps. Will he be the same as he was? Or will it take another year for him to get back to 100%? He’s healthy going into training camp — which is excellent — but he’s still had a recovery process to work through.
We can’t forget, however, that before his injury, Simmons’ 2024 tape was dominant. Physically, he checks all the boxes: he’s explosive, fluid and powerful — and he has length. As both a run blocker and pass protector, he was elite — just like a top-10 pick would be. There’s a real chance he picks up where he left off and is instantly impactful.
That’s why his range of outcomes is so broad. Could he potentially be a fringe top-10 left tackle — even as a rookie? I can see it. Might his rookie year be a struggle to return from injury? That’s entirely possible, too. Could it take a year or two for him to become a top player? It sure could.
With Simmons, anything could happen.
So here’s hoping for the best possible outcome — for both players.