Kansas City Chiefs: Kahlil McKenzie intriguing player on Chiefs roster

By Josh Michaels | Jun 28, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 04: Tennessee defensive lineman Kahlil McKenzie (DL11) is seen during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 4, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

No one is discussing Kahlil McKenzie much, but that could change. The defensive tackle turned offensive lineman is an underrated name on the Kansas City Chiefs roster.

If you’re not watching the Kansas City Chiefs latest program “The Franchise”, then you’re truly missing out. It’s a digital series they’ve created through Fox Sports Midwest, YouTube and their own KC Chiefs app and it features behind the scenes content that any and all Chiefs fans can absorb.

On the latest episode that debuted this past Wednesday evening, they featured a segment on offensive lineman, Kahlil McKenzie. McKenzie played college ball at the university of Tennessee, where he spent three seasons playing along the defensive line.

As they mention in the segment, when it came to his Pro Day, several team scouts asked him to work with them in the offensive line drills as well and obviously the Chiefs saw the potential.

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The Chiefs traded up in the sixth round to 198th overall in the 2018 draft to take McKenzie and make him their conversion project. He’s working his tail off to make the switch and he’s spent this off season training with NFL Hall of Famer and Chiefs legend, Will Shields.

Shields started a state of the art training facility called 68 Sports back in 2007, following his retirement. As they detail in the show, McKenzie has been focusing on all the intricate details and techniques that is required of an NFL offensive lineman.

I’m not sure if you have seen this young man lately or not, but he is certainly built for the position of offensive guard in the National Football League. McKenzie stands at 6’3″ and weighs 320 pounds, with legs the size of literal tree trunks. The burst and quickness for him to succeed is there, but what he’s been working on with Shields is his technique and hands.

The most important parts of playing along the offensive line are your footwork, balance, and hand placement.

Watching McKenzie work on these things with Will Shields leads one to believe that he has real potential to make an impact soon. The problem is that he’s got his work cut out for him as Laurent Duvernay-Tardif returns from injury and Andrew Wylie is sure to secure the left guard position. There’s also Cameron Erving, who poses a threat at left guard as well.

McKenzie is a player we should be keeping our eyes on during training camp and the preseason, as I’m sure the Chiefs are going to give him a ton of reps. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get some work at tackle and center as well. Coach Reid and Coach Heck love versatile players and the more you can do along that offensive line, the better chance you have at staying on the roster.

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Kahlil McKenzie could be a serious mauler if he continues to work on his techniques and learns to play the positions at a high level. He’s just one of many under the radar story lines I’ll be paying attention to once camp starts in a few weeks.

Is it football season yet!?!?!?!?

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