The Kansas City Chiefs made major moves during the offseason with the additions of Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III, safety Alohi Gilman, and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga. They also lost key pieces like cornerback Trent McDuffie and right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
Buried within the many narratives was the team giving a major vote of confidence to Kingsley Suamataia, the team's new, solidified starting left guard. Perhaps it's Suamataia's inability to become the team's starting left tackle after being drafted in 2024, or more likely, the fact that his breakout campaign happened during a down year for the franchise, which has made many forget about him as a needle-mover.
In 2025, though, Suamataia was one of the better pass-blocking guards in the league, finishing with a 65.7 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. Coming out of BYU, Suamataia was expected to be a specialist there. His run-blocking can improve, though he was in the top half at guard in PFF's run-blocking grading with a mark of 63.7.
Suamataia is clearly in this team's plans moving forward after a strong bounce-back year in 2025. The former second-rounder still has strides to make to justify being taken so high for playing a position he's no longer trusted at, but sometimes you find yourself a happy accident. For Suamataia, he found a system with enough talent to give him a fallback that's become a luxury for the team.
Josh Simmons Has Empowered Kingsley Suamataia to Thrive at LG
Chiefs GM Brett Veach saved himself last offseason by selecting Josh Simmons, fresh off a national championship at Ohio State, with the No. 32 overall pick to take over the left tackle position from Suamataia.
Simmons went on to have a strong, albeit truncated, first season in Kansas City, finishing with a PFF pass-blocking grade of 75.5. That was the best mark of any rookie. Simmons ceded just 18 total pressures and two sacks during an injury-shortened season.
Having Simmons allows Kansas City to unleash Suamataia at what is probably his best positional value at the pro level, potentially providing the Chiefs with a long-term All-Pro weapon up front protecting Patrick Mahomes' blind side. If the team is lucky, maybe Suamataia could develop into something similar at the guard spot.
Even if that doesn't happen, the world shouldn't forget the mental toughness Suamataia just showed, falling short in becoming the answer at left tackle but quickly pivoting and thriving in a new position.
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