The KC Chiefs’ 2023 Offensive Line Is a Complicated Group
Dating back multiple offseasons, the Kansas City Chiefs have always prioritized protecting the face of their franchise. Keeping Patrick Mahomes safe is at the forefront of the franchise's focus, and this past offseason saw some changes that emphasized that need even more.
Instead of working out long-term contract extensions with Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie, Kansas City allowed its starting offensive tackles to sign elsewhere. In their places, the Chiefs brought in the duo of Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor while also selecting Wanya Morris in the third round of the NFL Draft. The end result entering the season was a group with plenty of hype, although some players haven't quite justified that. What's the state of the offensive line as the final stretch of the 2023-24 campaign looms?
Joshua Brisco and Jordan Foote start an Arrowhead Report bye-week discussion to assess where Kansas City is at with the position as the season passes its midpoint.
Biggest success
Brisco: Creed Humphrey is still awesome. He's paid off on the logic of drafting a center at No. 63 overall with the goal of pairing him with Mahomes for the long haul, creating an outstanding duo that should be able to continue diagnosing defenses and commanding the offense for years to come. Humphrey should be the Chiefs' top priority for an extension among members of the 2021 draft class, and it's not close.
Foote: Absolutely, Humphrey has been the Chiefs' best and most consistent performer along the offensive line in 2023. He may not be the same analytics darling that he was in seasons past, yet he still compares favorably to other centers throughout the league and has been credited with just six quarterback hurries and one penalty in nine games thus far (he had 17 and five, respectively, in 2022). Kansas City hasn't always been the most willing to pay top dollar for centers, but as you mentioned, Humphrey is pretty much forcing their hand.
Biggest shortcoming
Brisco: Rather than pick any individual performance, I'm going to break the rules and ask a shortcoming question: Why, exactly, is the Chiefs' heralded offensive line routinely being punked by stunts and pass-rushing games from opposing defenses? It's genuinely strange and it's not a problem that plagued them in 2022. You can't just blame the newcomers at tackle when the interior -- which has now played together for two and a half years -- seems to be caught off-guard with some regularity. If the KC o-line was successfully communicating and passing off rushers, I think the underwhelming performance of the guards and tackles wouldn't be as obvious.
Foote: The Chiefs took a calculated risk by letting Brown and Wylie walk via free agency, and their replacement plan hasn't exactly paid off. Smith is tied for sixth among all offensive tackles in pressures allowed and ranks fourth in hurries. He's 10th in penalties. Taylor, fresh off inking a four-year deal worth $80 million in the spring, has collected more penalties this season than any offensive lineman in the sport. Smith is performing at a level closer to his salary than Taylor is, which isn't necessarily a praise of the former. The Chiefs need better play from their bookend duo.
Biggest question(s) remaining this season
Brisco: Who is Jawaan Taylor? Halfway through his first season with the Chiefs after signing a four-year contract worth $80M with $60M total guaranteed, the Chiefs signed Taylor to be an elite tackle, regardless of which side they wanted him to play. His season was derailed early by a league-wide fascination in his alignment and get-off, which (predictably) was over-corrected and then ignored after a few-week whirlwind of NFL refereeing (even more predictably) being massively inconsistent.
That saga certainly impacted Taylor's opening weeks as a Chief, and he's been solid in pass-protection, divorced from the penalties. But, barring another evening on the wrong end of the broadcast crew's ire, Taylor has stabilized that part of his game and needs to emerge from the bye in his best form. Improving as a run-blocker would be nice, but Taylor has yet to be truly dominant as a pass-blocker, and it would make Mahomes's life a lot easier if he could trust that he has one of the best tackles in football consistently winning on an island.
Foote: Is there room to get better, or is this simply what the 2023 Kansas City offensive line will be? External factors can help, like receivers getting open quicker or Mahomes being more efficient inside the pocket. It's not all on the protectors to do their job. At the end of the day, though, multiple players along the line have regressed in some way, shape or form. Coming into the season, this was touted as a potential top-five unit and the best of Mahomes's career. It hasn't been that so far — the next several weeks will reveal whether that ceiling can still be approached.
