If it wasn't obvious after the Chiefs traded for tackle/guard hybrid Joshua Ezeudu that they weren't too thrilled with the performance of the backup offensive line in preseason, perhaps another trade for 330 lb left tackle Diego Pounds from the Baltimore Ravens brings it to light.
General manager Brett Veach has now made two separate trades within the last couple of days, signaling how poorly this coaching staff and front office view the depth options on the o-line. Kansas City acquired the tackle for just a 2028 conditional sixth-round pick, according to ESPN's Nate Taylor.
To give some background on Diego Pounds as a player is easy. He played his four years in college, the first two at North Carolina and the final two at Ole Miss, where he was an every-down starter at left tackle. At 6'6", 330 lbs, Pounds is a massive individual who went undrafted in April and was scooped up by the Ravens.
Kansas City makes second trade in a matter of days to shore up depth along offensive line
The fact that Pounds is most certainly going to slot in at left tackle during his professional career is a direct implication of how the team views Esa Pole, who was supposed to be the backup to Josh Simmons, who remains sidelined with a mysterious back injury.
This all but guarantees Pole doesn't make the 53-man roster and will probably get stashed on the Chiefs' practice squad. And it's a personal preference whether or not you think trading a day-three pick two years from now is any kind of flashing red warning sign that Kansas City is seriously concerned about Simmons' recovery timeline.
I choose to take a measured approach and assume that he's just working through a small tweak and will be back in time for opening night on Sept. 14 versus the Denver Broncos. Pounds himself was given a fourth-or-fifth-round grade by many draft experts, but is a guy who kind of fell through the cracks.
He has ample starting experience at the college level and, by all accounts, performed really well in the preseason. Let's hope that this move doesn't mean Simmons is thought to potentially miss a chunk of the start of the season. It would signal a first-round pick who can't seem to stay on the field consistently, and a circus of events to start out an NFL career.
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