Are the Chiefs Shaking Up Their Offensive Line? Where Kahlil Benson, Jaylon Moore, Esa Pole Stand

An unlikely star has established himself in the first act of Kansas City Chiefs training camp.

Former Indiana Hoosiers offensive lineman Kahlil Benson wasn't a draft pick. He wasn't even a priority undrafted free agent, signed shortly after the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft. No, Benson joined the Chiefs in May.

Benson was one of more than 100 rookies who suited up for Chiefs rookie minicamp and was one of three players who signed deals with the team after attending the camp on a tryout basis. Since then, Benson has apparently done nothing but rise up the depth chart.

According to multiple reports out of training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, Benson took first-team reps at right tackle for the third consecutive practice on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, noted by Pete Sweeney of The Kansas City Star, veteran tackle Jaylon Moore worked as the second-team left tackle with second-year tackle Esa Pole at right tackle on Thursday before flipping sides for Friday's practice, returning Pole to the second-team left tackle position he's been in throughout most of camp, as Nate Taylor confirmed on Only Weird Games. Moore has also seen his share of his expected first-team reps at right tackle, but Benson has gotten a surprisingly significant look with the starting offense.

On Friday, head coach Andy Reid discussed what he had seen from Moore and Benson so far.

"[Benson] and Moore have kind of rotated through that," Reid said on Friday. "[Benson]'s done a nice job. He's learning. Very strong, powerful, good feet, good athletic ability, and [he's] working at the consistency part scheme-wise. So, physically, he's got all the tools there, so he'll just keep working at it, and we'll see where it goes, but he has a lot of talent there."

Veteran center Creed Humphrey also had praise for the young up-and-coming Hoosier.

"Really hard worker," Humphrey said of Benson. "He's a very hard worker. You can tell it's important to him, so he shows up [to] every meeting, every walkthrough, every lift — everything — with the right mindset. Really strong player, just from a physical standpoint. His punching power, things like that, he's really strong and really technical, too. We're excited about him."

So, where does that leave the Chiefs' offensive tackle battle?

The state of the Chiefs' right tackle battle

There's one sure thing about the Chiefs' top four offensive tackles: second-year first-round pick Josh Simmons is the starting left tackle. That's easy. From there on out, the questions begin.

Entering camp, the debate centered around Moore and Pole on the right side, and I didn't think that would materialize into a true battle, giving Moore the starting nod at right tackle while Pole continued to grow in a backup role with an eye toward 2027. Benson's rise is extremely notable for him, but I'm not yet ready to reorder my personal depth chart.

The Chiefs are giving Benson a long first-team look for a reason; it's absolutely cause for optimism for Benson's path to making the 53-man roster. Still, there's one big asterisk for all of these developments from the first week of camp: they've come without full pads.

The Chiefs' padded practices begin on Monday. If Benson remains in the starting lineup after a few days of full physicality, we'll have to revisit the right tackle conversation yet again. In the meantime, these are all excellent developments for Benson, but I'm still expecting Moore to start the season at right tackle when Kansas City takes the field in Week 1.

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