Why the Chiefs Need Even More from Star Guard Trey Smith in 2026

In the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs took a risk and drafted Tennessee Volunteers guard Trey Smith. Smith's collegiate film showed a player deserving of a much higher draft slot, but a concerning medical issue — blood clots in both lungs — gave NFL teams cause for caution.

After being drafted by the Chiefs, Smith earned a starting role to begin his rookie season and never let go, quickly establishing himself as one of the team's foundational stars.

In our Chiefs On SI rankings of the top 25 Chiefs for the 2026 season, Smith lands at No. 6.

Why Trey Smith Is So Important

Smith is one of the Chiefs' anchors on the offensive line alongside fellow guard Kingsley Suamataia (ranked No. 11) and center Creed Humphrey (who has not yet appeared). Smith's growth across the span of his rookie contract was consistent, allowing him to develop into one of the NFL's most violent blockers.

Ahead of the 2025 season, the Chiefs made Smith the highest-paid guard in football with a four-year, $94 million extension with $70 million guaranteed. (Smith is now the second-highest paid guard behind Tyler Smith of the Dallas Cowboys.) This season, Smith has a $24.5 million cap hit before hitting $28 million in 2027.

Smith's Strengths and Weaknesses

During his first four years in Kansas City, Smith started 67 of a possible 68 regular season games, plus another 13 in the postseason. As Smith grew as a player, his reliability bolstered his case as one of the league's best young interior offensive linemen.

Unfortunately for Smith and the Chiefs, the then-26-year-old only appeared in 12 games in 2025 due to back ailments and an ankle injury.

At this point, Smith's injury-riddled '25 is still the outlier after four seasons of exceptional consistency, but that will be an issue worth monitoring in 2026.

While Smith's Pro Football Focus grade understandably dipped in 2025 while playing through injury, he has historically been a dominant run-blocker and strong pass-protector throughout his career.

What Happens If Smith Gets Hurt?

When Smith was injured in 2025, backup guard Mike Caliendo was the first man up. Caliendo appeared in all 17 games last season, including four starts and six games where he took between 60% and 100% of KC's offensive snaps. Caliendo had his share of struggles during that time, but the team did not make a major addition to their interior O-line this offseason.

2024 fifth-round pick Hunter Nourzad took a handful of offensive snaps during his second season, culminating with a full workload in the Chiefs' Week 18 finale. Nourzad is also the top backup for Humphrey at center, so it appears likely that Caliendo and Nourzad will both make the Chiefs' 53-man roster. Still, those two could have a solid training camp battle to become the team's preferred backup interior piece.

Why We Ranked Smith Here

As bullish as we are regarding left tackle Josh Simmons, who ranked No. 7, it felt unreasonable to consider Simmons over Smith at this moment in their respective careers. Simmons' ceiling is tremendously high, but Smith has already overachieved by many measures, resulting in a major payday and national notoriety.

On the other hand, I could argue that Smith deserved to land as high as No. 4, depending on how you view two other key Chiefs who we'll be ranking in the next two days. Ultimately, coming off a season hampered by injury, No. 6 felt most fair for Smith's landing spot.

With his salary cap hit rising, the Chiefs need Smith to have better injury luck while reclaiming his spot as one of the league's best guards in 2026.

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