Why Chiefs Coach Says RPOs Don’t Hand Cuff Offensive Linemen

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City offensive line coach Andy Heck spoke to reporters prior to Thursday’s practice. The Chiefs (1-2) are hosting the Baltimore Ravens (1-2) on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium (3:25 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan).

To view his comments, watch below.

On his early grade with regard to Kingsley Suamataia:

“Yeah, I think Kingsley is doing a lot of things really well. And just like all of us, I mean, every time we turn on a practice, every time we turn on a game tape, we find stuff. ‘Hey, we got to work on this. We got to get better at that.’ And he's no exception. So, he's working on things like staying more square in the pocket. But I would say he's given us good, physical play. He's been adapting to that guard position very well. I'm very encouraged by what I'm seeing out of him.”

On balancing Jawaan Taylor’s pass-protection skills with his penalties, and getting him back on track:

“Yeah, I mean, without question, he's a talented pass protector. But as he knows, as we know, as everybody in the world knows, penalties, going backward, is not good for the football team. And so, hey, the only guy that could fix that is him right there. And so, I've seen him make a conscious effort to work on that, and we need him to do it. I mean, bottom line is, he's got to do that.”

On whether Taylor’s a marked man with officials:

“Well, yeah, certainly. I mean, I wouldn't use the word you used, but yeah, they've got an eye on him. I mean, they watch tape and, ‘Here's the alerts on this outfit,’ and ‘We're going to watch out for this and that.’ And so, without question, they'll come over and say, ‘Hey, you're going to have to move up on the ball for me,’ even before the game starts.”

Jan 13, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (74) and guard Trey Smith (65) and center Creed Humphrey (52) at the line of scrimmage against the Miami Dolphins in a 2024 AFC wild card game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

On Taylor’s tendency to line up too deep off the line of scrimmage:

“Well, first, I would say, in terms of his depth, we track that on a daily basis. We track that week to week. PFF tracks that, and you can see that there are upwards of 20 tackles that line up as deep or deeper than him. Now, when he's getting called, those are good calls. I mean, he's too deep. You get your helmet, it’s got to break the plane (of the center’s belt).

“I think as a very prideful player, one of the things Jawaan takes a lot of pride in, is he's going to give himself every advantage that he can. He's going to be on that snap count. And what we're telling him is, ‘Hey, that's not necessarily an advantage every time, like in fact, it can get you in trouble if you're too quick, you're too deep; that's creating too much space.’ But he does take a lot of pride in what he's doing there.”

On the development of rookie tackle Josh Simmons:

“What jumps out at you, when you watch the tape, when anybody watches him, how twitchy he is, how explosive he is … I would say, for a lighter guy, how strong he is. And so those are great attributes at that position.”

On the process of pairing down concepts and schemes, finding strengths:

“That's a good question. We still are in the process of finding out what we're good at. We've always done a lot of different concepts. I mean, whether it's throwing formations at people, different motions, variety, I would say the same is true of scheme. ‘We're not this; we're a mid-zone team; we're an inside-zone team.’ It might be that we're best at one of those two things.

“But we're going to have gap schemes, we're going to have man schemes, we're going to have specials. And so, I believe that we will find it, will find out what it is we're best at, from the line standpoint, from the runner standpoint, and what's best for our team. Is it getting under center and rolling, or is it RPOs? And we've kind of been a big RPO team through the years.”

Patrick Mahomes, isiah pachec — Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) hands off to running back Isiah Pacheco (10) against the Chicago Bears during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

On the narrative that RPOs hand cuff the offensive linemen, because they don’t know whether the play will be run or pass:

“No, I don't think so. I mean, when you've got to double-team a 3-technique, it doesn't matter to me whether the quarterback is under center or we're in the shotgun. And he might spit it out with a throw. I mean, if there's a guy between you and my buddy right there, we're going to go get hip-to-hip and take that guy off the ball. I don't think it handcuffs the O-line in any way. We're not saying, ‘Hey, let's be less aggressive. Let's be less physical,’ just because there may be a throw, or we're blocking for that runner.”

On getting tackle Jaylon Moore snaps late on Sunday, and whether that was to give him work or motivate Taylor to be better:

“Not the second. I mean, Jaylon Moore has been doing a lot of good things for us. We got a lot of confidence in him. Good, big body in there, did a nice job in there, in that four-minute.”

On how he’s tried to coach the penalties out of Taylor:

“No, I'm open to suggestions there. I mean, ‘Don't jump offsides. Don't line up too deep. This is offsides.’ No, we've had good communication on that. We've had heart-to-heart. And Jawaan is a smart guy. He knows what he's got to do.”

On his frustration level with Taylor:

“Yeah, I mean, it's an old coaching adage: You don't want to repeat offenses. So, if you make a mistake, make it once. Let's not come back make the same mistake again.”

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