How Serious is the Chiefs' Offensive Tackle Problem?

The Kansas City Chiefs' offensive tackle situation in the 2026 season has been... complicated. But has it been actively detrimental to the KC offense? Well, that's complicated too. Let's start from the top.

The season of O-line uncertainty began at left tackle, where undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson—a player who did not sign to the Chiefs' 90-man roster until May 4—has started every game at one of the sport's most impactful positions, protecting Patrick Mahomes' blindside since Week 1.

Benson joined the team after a strong showing during rookie minicamp, then climbed the depth chart all the way to a battle for the starting right tackle spot in training camp. (Oh yeah, it's worth remembering that Benson was a lifelong right tackle, playing exclusively on the right side during his collegiate career.)

By the waning days of camp, it appeared that veteran Jaylon Moore would hold on to his starting right tackle spot. Then, starting left tackle Josh Simmons suffered a back injury. Very long story, very short: Simmons hasn't played in a game this season and currently sits on the injured reserve list, with his future timeline remaining uncertain.

Benson was named AFC Offensive Rookie of the Month in September, giving the youngster a bit of recognition for his ability to step into a very difficult situation, playing decent ball on his unnatural side of the line. Meanwhile, Moore has started at right tackle in every game except for the Chiefs' Week 7 loss in Seattle, when he was out with a concussion, leaving Joshua Ezeudu to start in his place.

Anecdotally, I've found most Chiefs fans to be relatively impressed with Benson's performance at left tackle while being largely unsatisfied with Moore's performance on the right side. The offense has been solid enough this season (with the exception of the Sunday night beatdown in Seattle and the scoreless fourth quarter in Denver), but it certainly hasn't been an unstoppable force, ranking 11th in points per game this season, even with a molten-hot start from running back Kenneth Walker to begin the year.

How can we properly assess the impact the tackles have had on the offense? This week, a pair of charts caught my eye.

OT percentile grades in run & pass blocking pic.twitter.com/Xato64hyeI
— Jrfortgang (@throwthedamball) November 4, 2026

That graphic, from Judah Fortgang on Twitter, charts qualifying offensive tackles from around the league relative to their pass blocking and run blocking grades from Pro Football Focus. (Obvious disclaimer: PFF grades aren't always the gospel truth, but they're rarely total hogwash, particularly in a larger sample size like this.) You'll find the Chiefs' two starters, Benson and Moore, on the far left side of the graphic. That's not where you want to be.

Benson has the fifth-worst pass-blocking grade from PFF among qualifying tackles this season, but he's dead last in Fortgang's pass block grade percentile chart. He fares significantly better as a run blocker, right around the middle of the pack. Moore fares slightly better in pass block grading but slightly worse on the ground; still not good.

Another chart focuses on how their individual performances have impacted the offense.

How often OT are left 1-on-1 in pass blocking and their grades on those plays pic.twitter.com/gUGT6NElVS
— Jrfortgang (@throwthedamball) November 4, 2026

This second graphic from Fortgang specifically looks at how often offensive tackles are left one-on-one in pass blocking situations and how they fare on those plays. In this case, you'll see Benson and Moore both at the bottom of the graphic (still bad), but in very different places on the x-axis.

From eyeballing this chart, you can see that Benson is left on an island at the sixth-highest rate in the league—an astronomical spot for the inexperienced rookie. Unfortunately, he also has the worst one-on-one grade of any qualifying tackle in the league by these metrics. The story of that chart is telling you that Benson is largely left one-on-one, to the tune of league-worst results.

Meanwhile, Moore has a much lower one-on-one rate, but he has the third-worst one-on-one grade when he is left to handle his assignment on his own.

Again, I want to emphasize two things before getting to the concerning takeaway. First, these grades shouldn't be the only data point used to evaluate the Chiefs' tackles (but I would say that they're a fair representation of what we've seen on film). Second, it's still reasonable to be impressed with what Benson has done in extraordinary circumstances. Asking an undrafted rookie right tackle to operate like a franchise left tackle is a remarkably steep task, and Benson has been good enough for the Chiefs to keep a functional offense in most circumstances.

Still, I believe that the impact of the questionable tackle play has shown up in big moments.

Mahomes is his O-line's best friend. Even when he's under duress, Mahomes is extremely good at mitigating the pressure while keeping his eyes downfield, giving him a chance to make a play even after the trenches have been lost. Think back to all the times Mahomes has escaped a collapsing pocket this season. Then, you have the times he has left the pocket by design, with the play call creating a moving target for opposing pass rushers, trying to give the tackles a schematic advantage while defensive ends are left guessing. Then think of how many times Mahomes has been able to sit in the pocket, survey his options, and deliver the ball without incident.

GOT 'EM.

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/9eSUKJJwjA
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 2, 2026

Even Mahomes isn't without fault here. Particularly in Seattle with Ezeudu at right tackle, Mahomes stepped into pressure that may not have otherwise arrived. That, to me, looked like a quarterback who isn't entirely trusting his surroundings.

When the Chiefs' offense designs passing plays to run away from Benson's side of the line, that seems indicative of both the problem Kansas City currently has, and of the way they've mitigated it so far. Benson can be asked to "die a slow death" while Mahomes buys time to his right, asking Moore to hold his spot long enough for Mahomes to reset and fire. When it works, it looks great. When any part of that equation fails, you see a hurried, out-of-sync, unconfident passing game that still hasn't found its footing.

It's not all on the tackles; the pass-catchers are hurting more often than they're helping, and the interior offensive line bears some of the responsibility as well. This also isn't for the sake of stirring up more vitriol for Benson or Moore; Benson is overachieving any reasonable expectations anyone could have had for his rookie season, and Moore is underperforming on his contract, so he's already getting plenty of blame from many fans. But if the Chiefs want to get back to the best version of Mahomes and the ideal version of their passing game, they'll need a better second half of the season from their bookends on the offensive line.

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