Five Kansas City Chiefs players entering make or break seasons in 2020
By Tyler Miller
Kansas City Chiefs entering make or break season in 2020
4. player. 124. . Offensive Guard. Kansas City Chiefs. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
Despite playing guard, “The Doctor” has spent the last half decade making himself a fan favorite in Kansas City. Part of this is due to Laurent Duvernay-Tardif being an actual doctor, part is due to him being a bit of an underdog story – thanks to his Canadian upbringing and being drafted in the sixth round – but part is also purely because he played pretty well.
After he was drafted in 2014, Duvernay-Tardif took what amounts to a redshirt year before becoming a fixture on the offensive line. Between 2015 and 2017, the Chiefs saw his play steadily improve until he was seen as one of the better guards in football and rewarded with a five-year contract.
From there, things would go downhill. Duvernay-Tardif’s season ended in week five of 2018 with a broken leg and although he was healthy again in 2019, it was obvious his play wasn’t at where it was before the injury.
The Chiefs have quietly been stocking up on guard talent the last few seasons and with the possibility of third round pick Lucas Niang playing guard this season, Duvernay-Tardif could lose his job before training camp gets out.
Even if he does hold on though, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif’s contract is far too big to get anything below a top 15 guard, so if he doesn’t improve his play, The Doctor will find himself somewhere else in 2021.