KC Chiefs: Three position battles to watch heading into 2020
By Shade Piper
KC CHIEFS POSITION BATTLES – NUMBER TWO: OFFENSIVE LINE
Offensive line is kind of a broad group, but bear with me. Specifically, interior offensive line is the piece of the line that could see the most change and even more specifically, center is the biggest position to watch.
The reason why fans will want to keep an eye on the entire offensive line is because while the starting tackles are basically locked in, there are some interesting depth pieces to monitor.
Lucas Niang was the Chiefs’ third-round pick this season and is likely the future at tackle for Kansas City, so he is a virtual lock to make the 55-man roster. Behind him, there is another very interesting rookie tackle coming into training camp. Yasir Durant was the top-rated offensive lineman available post-draft and joins Niang as the second rookie tackle looking to grab a roster spot.
Durant will be a player that a bunch of Chiefs fans will be pulling for as a former Mizzou Tiger. He will be an interesting player to watch because due to all of the offensive line depth, he likely faces an uphill battle and could be a player asked to compete at guard.
Other than Durant and Niang, there is Mike Remmers, who plays all over the line. It will be interesting to see how his primary position affects Durant and the rest of the linemen battling for a roster spot.
Moving to guard, there are likely at least five players (not counting Remmers or Durant), fighting for three to four spots including both starting spots, which are up for grabs. Realistically, fans can watch for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Andrew Wylie, and Martinas Rankin as the three most likely to be duking it out for the two starting positions.
Behind them, there will likely be one or two depth pieces at guard on the active roster leaving, at max, one spot being battled for by Remmers and Durant potentially and other candidates like Ryan Hunter, Jovahn Fair, and then the guys who lose out on the starting center spot could be in that mix as well.
Finally we have come to the center position. Center will probably be the best battle to watch on the offensive line. The starting spot is up for grabs leaving Austin Reiter, Nick Allegretti, and rookie Darryl Williams in a three-way battle for the starting gig. All three of those players have a legit chance to be the starting center next season.