The Kansas City Chiefs held their annual rookie minicamp this weekend for the 2025 draft class, undrafted free agents, and tryout/invite players.
It was the first opportunity for head coach Andy Reid and the rest of the Chiefs’ coaching staff to get an up-close look at this year’s rookie after taking them in the NFL draft. One of the rookies fans can’t wait to see is offensive tackle Josh Simmons.
The Chiefs took Simmons in the first round out of Ohio State. After seeing the offensive line get beat up in Super Bowl 59, Kansas City needed to address the trenches and find young talent.
Kansas City hopes Simmons could be the left tackle of the future, despite the signing of Jaylon Moore in free agency. Reid spoke with the media on Sunday about how Simmons looked at his first minicamp practice.
According to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, Reid was surprised to see how well the former Ohio State standout moved around in his first practice. However, as McDowell notes, there’s still a lot of evaluation time.
Reid also told reporters that Simmons is participating in individual drills and moving around well as he progresses in the offseason training program, per Chiefs senior team reporter Matt McMullen.
Simmons is still rehabbing from an Achilles tendon injury that cut short his last year with the Buckeyes. That said, it's expected that he’ll be ready for the start of the 2025 season, which would be good news for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs would love to have Moore handling the left tackle spot and potentially Simmons pushing for the right tackle job. As things currently stand, the right tackle spot is a mess with Jawaan Taylor and Wanya Morris.
When healthy, Simmons is a force that can seal the edge, get into the second level, and is tough to beat when he gets his hands inside.