Kansas City Chiefs: Rookie Roles for 2016 Season

Parker Ehinger

Out of all of the KC Chiefs’ early round picks, Parker Ehinger enters the preseason as the most likely one to be a starter. He’s currently the penciled in starter over at left guard for the Chiefs.

The Ehinger pick seemed like a bit of a stretch at the time of the selection (the Chiefs took him in the fourth round), but we all said the same thing about Mitch Morse in the second round the year prior, and look how well that one turned out. Shows how much we know.

Being familiar with the type of offense that Kansas City runs will only help Ehinger’s chances of winning the left guard job.

Andy Reid seems to like having a rookie along the offensive line every year, as he’s done so during each of his four years in Kansas City. He had Eric Fisher at right tackle in 2013, Zach Fulton all along the line in 2014, and Mitch Morse holding down the fort at center last season. Now, we’ll likely have Ehinger manning the left guard position for 2016.

The offensive line has been a weakness for Kansas City over the past two seasons, but it’s seemingly improving. Eric Fisher made huge strides last season at left tackle, Morse was a bad ass at center, and the team signed Mitchell Schwartz during the offseason to hold things down at right tackle.

That left the two guard spots up for grabs, and Ehinger came in, grabbed ahold of left guard early, and so far hasn’t relinquished that spot. He told Christian Hardy of The Kansas City Star that Cincinnati, his alma mater, used to run a lot of screens, and that seems to be what the Chiefs do with their offense.

Being familiar with the type of offense that Kansas City runs will only help Ehinger’s chances of winning the left guard job.

Out of all of the guys drafted by the Chiefs this year, Parker Ehinger is the safest bet to be a starter come opening weekend.

Next: Under the radar