Today, pending free agent Alaric Jackson signed a three-year, $57 million deal to return to the Los Angeles Rams. Jackson is a 26-year-old athletic tackle who has been a solid player for the Rams throughout his career and earned a big payday. Good offensive tackles rarely hit free agency, and teams make it a big priority to retain them before free agency.
Jackson felt like the best option for the Kansas City Chiefs, as he was a young and athletic tackle with production and future upside. With him off the board, there are few remaining options.
How should the Chiefs address left tackle this offseason?
As far as free agency goes, the Chiefs will struggle to find a guy who can be the left tackle of the future. The biggest names that will hit free agency are either on the older side and will likely need short-term deals or risky options coming off short stints of success.
Adding a new player always comes with risk, but left tackle is an especially tough one to get right. As I mentioned above, if teams feel they have a good left tackle, they won’t let them walk, and it will be very hard for the Chiefs to address the blindside in free agency.
The best free agents on the market are all somewhat risky options for a variety of reasons. Guys like Jedrick Wills Jr and Cam Robinson were all high draft picks who have flashed success but have struggled to remain healthy throughout their career. Players like Ronnie Stanley and Tyron Smith are all veteran options who are on the older side and will need short-term deals and are likely on the decline.
The best fit is probably Dan Moore, who has been a solid LT for the Steelers, but the team will likely move on from him this offseason. But he may be expensive, and I would suspect a contract for him would be in the range of three years, $45-50 million. This is money the team may not be willing to spend as they are tight on cap and have several spots to fill this offseason.
Other options include guys like Kelvin Beachum and Cornelius Lucas, who are veteran swing tackles and may not be considered starters by the team.
For years, I have said that when it comes to adding tackles, the best option is the draft. Teams like the Eagles, Packers, and others have shown that hammering on the offensive line often results in success. Many Chiefs fans have lost hope, with the struggles of recent draft picks at tackle, but the team can not give up hope in the draft. This year's class is loaded with tackles, and there are at least 6 tackles that I think should be on the table at pick 31.
In my opinion, the Chiefs need to do a couple of things to address left tackle this offseason. The Chiefs need a veteran presence at tackle, and adding a swing tackle like Beachum or Lucas could be valuable.
The next step will be through the draft. I released an article about draft options for the Chiefs, and I think there are several first-round options. This gives the Chiefs a young option as well as a veteran player who can help develop and provide depth without costing the team too much cap space.