Breaking down the Chiefs first-round left tackle options
Tyler Brown
If Chiefs fans were polled, I would guess most of them would want Kansas City to draft a wide receiver with their first-round pick. It makes perfect sense too. Yes, the Chiefs won a Super Bowl last season, and I think Patrick Mahomes can get by with an average receiver room, but last season showed a certain level of receiver play required to be a top-10 offense.
The only reason the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last season is because the defense was dominant and receivers like Marquez Valdez-Scantling and Mecole Hardman stepped up in key moments down the stretch. Another reason the Chiefs might want to grab a receiver at pick 32 is they only signed Hollywood Brown to a one-year deal, leaving Rashee Rice as the only receiver with potential on the roster long-term.
With all of that being said, the Kingdom needs to come to terms with the fact that this is not really how Andy Reid or Brett Veach operate. Reid has not drafted a receiver in the first round since 2009 with Mizzou legend Jeremy Maclin. Before that, it was in 2001 when the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Freddie Mitchell. Veach has never drafted a wide receiver in the first round since taking over as general manager in 2017.
What Reid has done in his 25-year career as a head coach in the NFL is he has drafted 12 offensive or defensive linemen out of his 20 first-round picks. The Chiefs have a glaring hole at left tackle and every team in the NFL is in the market for new talent along the defensive line, so the odds do tilt in the favor of adding to the trenches over adding a wide receiver.
If the Chiefs find value at 32 at left tackle or if they use their recent draft capital received from the Tennessee Titans-L’Jarius Sneed trade, it would be a logical move on multiple levels. The obvious reason is that 2023 rookie Wanya Morris might not be ready. The second is that left guard Joe Thuney has an enormous cap hit in 2025 and center Creed Humphrey's contract expires at the end of this season, as does right guard Trey Smith.
The interior is about to get expensive and just because Morris was just drafted in the third round last season does not mean it is a wasted pick. Morris could slide into the interior next season and swing tackles are always in demand.
So, who are the most logical fits at left tackle for the Chiefs at 32 or who could be within striking distance in a small trade-up?
Kingsley Suamataia , BYU
2024 is a historically deep tackle class, so it is a good year for the Chiefs to be in the market. There are legitimately eight to nine tackles that could be taken in the first round. BYU left tackle Kingsley Suamataia is 45th on PFF’s big board and is a realistic option for Kansas City.
Reid, a BYU grad loves him some Cougars on his team, but Suamataia is more than just that. He just turned 21, so he could still be raw enough that the Chiefs could bring him on board in tandem with incumbent left tackle Donovan Smith. Suamataia is six-foot-six, 315 pounds and has an extreme amount of athleticism, posting a 5.04 40-yard dash.
The Relative Athletic Score scores draft prospects on a scale of zero to 10 based on their size and measurables and
he is ranked 86th out of 1314 offensive tackles since 1987. Last season, his first at left tackle and only his second season of real playing time, he only allowed six hurries and two sacks. The previous season at right tackle he allowed zero sacks all season.
Here is what PFF has to say about him.
“Suamataia is an impressive overall athlete with difference-making explosiveness and power in the run game. Whether blocking in man/gap or zone concepts, he has the upper and lower body strength to drive and displace.
In pass protection, his footwork is natural for a player of his size, but he doesn’t move laterally as well as he does forward. Where he is a dream athlete for a tackle, his inexperience leaves his technique raw and inconsistent. His hand placement and timing are a work in progress, and at times, he can be more of a shover than a true blocker.”
When you draft someone in the first round, it is ideal that they play immediately, but the Chiefs are at a unique point in their franchise where that is not necessarily a must. In 2023 they basically red-shirted defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah after drafting him in the first round.
Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma
The Chiefs have fallen for left tackles from Oklahoma recently, drafting Morris last season and trading for Orlando Brown back in 2021. Left tackle Tyler Guyton could be the next in line after starting for the Sooners the past two seasons allowing a total of 11 hurries and two sacks in that time period.
Guyton is 30th on PFF’s big board but is the eighth-ranked tackle, so there is a chance he falls to the Chiefs if there is a big quarterback and wide receiver run in the first round. Guyton is slightly bigger and heavier than Suamataia and actually scored even better on the RAS scale,
standing at 51st out of 1,314 tackles over the past 28 draft classes.
Guyton was slower than Suamataia but had a vertical jump more than six inches higher. Guyton also had an elite three-cone drill. Both of those measurements bode well for offensive linemen in terms of explosion and lateral movements.
Here is PFF’s breakdown on Guyton.
“Guyton is a rare athlete for an offensive tackle. He is a former defensive end and didn’t start playing offensive tackle until he got to college. That inexperience is still visible. His strike targets to defenders’ bodies are inconsistent, as is his hand placement. This has caused him to be more of a pusher than a blocker.
Still, his natural physical ability is evident. Guyton’s foot speed and stride length for a player of his size are impressive, allowing him to mirror without overextending. He can fire off the ball quickly, and that gives him a good punch at contact.”
With Guyton being a somewhat newly converted offensive lineman, bringing back Donovan Smith may still be in play here as well, as long as Smith is on board with potentially being a backup. The reality of picking at 32 is the prospects are more raw than the ones at the top of the first round.
Amarius Mims, Georgia
Left tackle Amarius Mims will require a trade-up in the first round, but if he falls to the early to mid-20’s the Chiefs could strike for gold with this pick. Mims does lack the experience wanted in a first-round draft pick, but the production and measurables are tantalizing.
Due to so much talent at the Georgia program, he did not see the field until his sophomore season and his junior year in 2023 was cut short due to injury. He only dropped back in pass protection 186 times in 2023, but in those, he only allowed one pressure on the quarterback.
He continues the theme of having a dominant RAS score, ranking 67th. This is mostly due to him being a phenomenal athlete for his size. He is a mammoth of a human being, standing at six-foot-seven, 340 pounds. He has anything you would ever want in a blindside tackle protecting Mahomes.
Here is what PFF had to say about the Georgia stud.
“It’s hard to believe how the 6-foot-7, 340-pound Mims can sit down in his stance and run to cover ground. He also has elite length for the position. While his physical potential is through the roof, he lacks experience. He played only 682 snaps over the past two seasons with just eight starts due to biding his time at a talented program and injury in 2023.
He is a strong player who can maintain blocks well with good upper-body strength. Mims is more smooth than he is truly explosive as an athlete, which takes away some of his punch at contact. His feet are also a bit slow in pass protection, which can cause some clunky kickbacks and oversetting.”
In this scenario, the Chiefs are giving up future picks with no contingency plan at left tackle. If Mims is the pick, he will be anchoring the left side starting with the offseason workouts. With right tackle Jawaan Taylor struggling as a run-blocker, an added benefit to Mims is that this is something he excels at.
When you have a bunch of contracts along the offensive line potentially either coming off the books or getting expensive, it is prudent the Chiefs reset the rookie wage scale clock with younger players along the starting five. Any of these three options would help the Chiefs accomplish what they are setting out to do with the three interior linemen they have on the roster.
