Early Chiefs 7-Round Mock Draft to Address Starter Benchings
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the best teams in the NFL in 2024, but their roster is not without weakness. In fact, even though they've been able to already clinch a playoff spot and are in line for the #1 seed in the AFC, a number of crucial weaknesses have been exposed for this Chiefs team that might not be able to truly be fixed until the 2025 offseason.
For the time being, the Chiefs will hope for the best as starting left tackle Wanya Morris and starting cornerback Nazeeh Johnson have been benched as we enter the month of December, when the stakes are high.
While Kansas City couldn't tolerate those guys' play this season, they will need to look for long-term replacements in the 2025 NFL Draft, and there could be some great solutions there. With a third Super Bowl still within reach, let's momentarily put one eye on the 2025 NFL Draft and how the Chiefs could attack some of their roster holes.
Chiefs snag Ohio State tackle in 2025 NFL Mock Draft
1. 31st overall: Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
The Chiefs' issues at left tackle are pretty well documented, and this has been a revolving door pretty much since Patrick Mahomes became the starter. The Chiefs have gone through guys like former #1 pick Eric Fisher to the likes of Orlando Brown, Donovan Smith, Wanya Morris, Kingsley Suamataia -- you name it.
They've tried just about every avenue to get a long-term fix at this spot, but it just hasn't worked out. The 2025 NFL Draft class isn't loaded at tackle but it might be deeper than it is strong at the top. Josh Simmons was tracking to potentially be the top offensive tackle off the board before a knee injury he suffered earlier this season.
That obviously adds some annoying additional risk to this type of pick, but it also adds some tremendous value as Simmons could have possibly gone in the top 15 overall selections. The Chiefs continue to hope they can find a long-term solution here, throwing darts with some of their more valuable resources.