KC Chiefs: Why addressing offensive line in 2020 NFL Draft is so important
The KC Chiefs offensive line had a nice back half of the season, but they got rocked in the Super Bowl. After losing key depth this offseason, drafting an offensive lineman or two would be a smart move.
The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t had a great offensive line in quite some time, but they’ve had respectable units at least. This past season was one of the best they’ve had in years, especially once Eric Fisher returned from injury. He and Mitchell Schwartz provide nice anchors at the two tackle spots, but the interior line needs fine tuning.
After Stefen Wisniewski stepped in at the left guard spot and played well, it would have been nice if the Chiefs could have retained him, but he signed with Pittsburgh this offseason. Andrew Wylie will probably get the first crack at winning the left guard job, but the Chiefs shouldn’t settle anywhere along their offensive line.
When a team has a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, the most important thing in keeping him happy is having a unit that can protect him. With Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce still under contract for a few more seasons, finding weapons for Mahomes isn’t as big of a need.
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After getting sacked six times in three playoff games (including four times in the Super Bowl), Mahomes needs a line that can protect him. With the two tackle spots set up for the unforeseeable future, the Chiefs need to find someone who can play guard and/or center.
As mentioned above, Wylie is probably going to be penciled in at left guard, but even when he was healthy enough to return last season, Kansas City still went with Wisniewski.
Austin Reiter has one year left on his deal, so center is going to be something that will need addressing. Lastly, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is expensive, so even though he’s manned right guard over the past few seasons, a change there isn’t out of the question.
Someone I’d like to see the Chiefs target in the second round is Lloyd Cushenberry III, who played center at LSU. Cushenberry could either compete for a guard or center spot in 2020 and then move to center full-time in 2021 if he didn’t win the job for this year.
The Chiefs shouldn’t put offensive line on the back burner this year because even though they have most of their lineup set, the position is very taxing and a lot of injuries occur there as a result. This is why the Chiefs need to have depth and Wisniewski being around last year and stepping in for the final month and a half of the season proved pivotal.
Offensive line isn’t a sexy position, but with an MVP quarterback under center for the next 10-15, the Kansas City Chiefs need to do everything they can to protect him during that time.