Despite losing in the Super Bowl last February, things have been pretty rosy for the Kansas City Chiefs during OTAs. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have a renewed energy entering another year and plenty of new faces make Chiefs fans optimistic that they can climb to the top of the mountain and win their third championship in the past four years and fourth since 2019.
While things are great now, there are highs and lows to an NFL season. One of the darker areas of OTAs has been along the offensive line where general manager Brett Veach has remodeled the group after Mahomes was thrown around by the Eagles defense in the Super Bowl.
Trey Smith’s contract situation seems to have an end in sight but it’s another offensive lineman who has been cast in a negative light as the workouts come to a close.
Jawaan Taylor Doesn’t Look Great Coming Out of Chiefs OTAs
The Chiefs sent one message to their offensive line when they traded Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears but they sent a pair of messages to Taylor with their decisions this offseason. Kansas City struck early in free agency to bring in Jaylon Moore and they doubled down on the tackle position when they selected Josh Simmons in the first round of April’s draft.
Simmons appeared to be a project pick after suffering a torn patellar tendon in his final year with Ohio State last fall. With Moore in the fold, Simmons could take his time with his recovery and jump into the starting lineup when ready. But general manager Brett Veach threw a swerve when he noted played right tackle during his time at San Diego State and Jawaan Taylor was recovering from a knee injury.
“When Pat Mahomes is your quarterback, you can never have enough of those guys (tackles),” Veach said during his media availability after the first round. “…It’s a long season. Jaylon Moore has to stay healthy. Jawaan [Taylor] is doing a good job now with rehab from his knee, but he has to stay healthy. …You have him under contract now for five years and these guys are so hard to find.”
Veach may have been speaking in generalities and there’s no indication that Taylor is on the verge of losing his job for the upcoming season. But it may have been a long-term warning as Taylor carries a $27.9 million cap hit for next season and the Chiefs can save $20 million with a post-June 1 release.
That was before OTAs happened. Simmons is already on the field and could be on the way to earning a starting job during training camp. Moore is currently the backup but could be a solid camp or an injury away from a starting job. Then there’s the issue of Taylor’s performance which generated 17 penalties (three declined) last season according to Pro Football Focus.
If Taylor slips or the offensive line doesn’t live up to its expectations, he could wind up being the scapegoat. That could leave him on the market next season and make OTAs a turning point in his tenure in Kansas City.