Arrowhead Pride
While it isn’t as drastic a change as we saw after 2020, Kansas City’s offensive line will again be different in 2025.
For the third straight year, I’m considering the 10 biggest questions I have for the Kansas City Chiefs for 2025.
Kansas City Chiefs’ fans are well aware that the team’s 2020 and 2024 squads sputtered out in their respective Super Bowls largely because they couldn’t move the ball. In each case, struggles on the offensive line were a big part of the problem.
So in each successive offseason, the team made significant moves on the line. In 2021, it signed left guard Joe Thuney, traded for left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and drafted two young stars: center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith.
While their moves weren’t as dramatic this year, the Chiefs will go into the coming season with a new left tackle and left guard. After trading Thuney to the Chicago Bears, they signed tackle Jaylon Moore — formerly with the San Francisco 49ers — and selected former Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons with the 32nd pick of the NFL Draft.
By this time in 2021, we (mostly) knew what the offensive line would look like. While right tackle was a question — Lucas Niang and Andrew Wylie would compete for the spot in training camp — the other four spots were set.
That’s not the case in 2025. While Humphrey, Smith (and right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who was signed in 2023) are the clear starters at their positions, who will be the Day 1 starter at left tackle — or at left guard? What will be the in-season contingency plan for each position? What should we expect to see in training camp — and in Week 1?
Going into camp, this is the most interesting position. Simmons is recovering from a torn patellar tendon, but has been cleared to participate in practices. Under the circumstances, it seems likely that Moore (with a dozen NFL starts under his belt) will get the first crack at starting reps.
But how long of a leash will the veteran have? While the Chiefs aren’t paying Moore an outrageous amount of money for the position he plays, they did invest real money into his contract. If Moore has a great camp, that will be great. But what if his performances are up-and-down? How long would it take for Kansas City to make a change? Would the team be willing to do it before Week 1?
How Simmons performs will be a big part of the equation. We simply don’t know how the rookie will look in his first action after the injury he suffered in October. If he immediately performs as he did with the Buckeyes in 2024, there’s zero doubt in my mind he will be the starter — but that’s not a guarantee. Even after he’s fully recovered, there will still be hurdles for the rookie to clear.
So, how quickly can Simmons...
