Kansas City Chiefs season in review 2017: Offensive Line
By David Thomas
Now we’re on to perhaps the most underrated position of any team in the NFL, the offensive line.
For most of the last 18 years the Kansas City Chiefs have always been known as a team with a solid offensive line. From the days Will Shields, Willie Rolf, and Brian Waters to the present with players like Mitchell Schwartz, Mitch Morse, and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif—the Canadian and soon to be doctor.
The other guys on the line this season were Eric Fisher, Zach Fulton, and Bryan Witzmann. Fulton originally started the season as a backup for starting center Mitch Morse. However, Morse suffered a foot injury that kept him out from weeks 3-7 and 15-18 (including playoffs).
So now with the introductions out of the way. Lets get into the nitty gritty of this season in review for the offensive line.
The Expectations
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
Starting in 2016, right guard Duvernay-Tardif has surpassed all expectations and earned himself a 5-year contract extension that made him one of the highest paid guards in the NFL at the time of signing. Tardif finished that season ranked 9th in pass blocking efficiency by PFF, allowing just 18 total pressures all season. So expectations were high.
Eric Fisher
Eric Fisher’s performance, 1st overall pick in 2013 and the first pick of the Andy Reid era, is still hotly debated on if he’s earned his draft position. Following the 2016 season, Fisher still ranked towards the bottom in terms of pass blocking and run blocking efficiency. He’s a solid, if not underwhelming, player who isn’t too bad to be benched or cut, but leaves much to be desired. Expectations for Fisher are high considering his draft status, but I think we’ve seen the best Fisher can do.
Zach Fulton
Zach Fulton didn’t have any expectations at all coming into 2017. He’s a very solid backup who is just not quite good enough to break into the starting lineup. He’s typically considered a guard, but his best position may be at center. It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs try to retain him this offseason or simply let him walk for a chance to compete on another team.
Mitchell Schwartz
Mitchell Schwartz was brought to the Chiefs in 2016 after a 4 year stint with the Browns. He left the Browns being regarded by some as the top right tackle in the NFL. The Chiefs ended up signing him to a 5 year deal that made him the second highest paid right tackle in the NFL. He was also known in Cleveland for having never missed a snap since becoming the starter, and that’s continued so far in his two seasons in K.C. Expectations from the team and fans has been high on Schwartz since his arrival considering his already high regard and contract earned.
Mitch Morse
Morse hasn’t had the easiest job in the world since joining the Chiefs. He was drafted in the 2nd round in 2015 as a replacement for the recently departed Rodney Hudson. Morse answered in a big way finishing the 2015 season on PFWA’s All-Rookie team and ranked 5th in pass blocking centers in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. He’s never been particularly strong in run blocking, but his pass blocking efforts continued to impress the Chiefs. Expectations were high for a young center who was already beginning to look like a top 5 player.
Bryan Witzmann
Witzmann is a curious character as far as expectations for 2017 go. Originally many assumed that 2nd year guard Parker Ehinger would take the starting left tackle position after starting there last season. Witzmann was viewed as a backup and developmental player for the guard slot. Expectations were mixed as there wasn’t much to go off of as far as past performance goes. Witzmann had never started a game before 2017.
The Reality
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
Many question if LDT had truly earned his 5 year $41.25 million dollar contract. Although he did end up missing nearly 6 games (including one game where he had just 2 snap),. he ended the season ranked 7th in PBE, and allowed just 11 pressures in 10 total games played. Tardif played very well when he was on the field, and now is ranked just 11th in total average value per year for his contract. I think he surpassed his expectations talent wise, but we hope to see him be able to stay healthy going forward.
Eric Fisher
This year for Fisher was… more of the same. What we’ve come to expect from Fisher is being a consistent and solid starter and not much more. In 2017 that’s exactly what he was. Fisher played every snap of 2017 except the final game in which he was allowed to rest for the playoffs. He finished the season 33rd in PBE, but continued to improve in run blocking. Fisher has all the physical tools to be a top left tackle in the league. Will he ever realize his potential?
Zach Fulton
Fulton ended up playing a lot more snaps than hoped and expected for the injured Morse. He ended up starting weeks 3-7 and 13-15 playing 542 total snaps at center. And I think it’s fair to say he performed above and beyond anyone’s expectations. Fulton had flashed in the past, but all things considered, the offensive line barely missed a beat between Morse and Fulton. Among centers playing at least 25% of their team’s passing plays, he finished 10th in pass blocking. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, he’s an unrestricted free agent and will likely command a contract that is too high to retain.
Mitchell Schwartz
Despite most of the starters taking the final game of the season off, Schwartz continued to finish his second straight season without missing a snap. Among the 9 offensive tackles to play 600+ passing snaps in 2017, no other tackle had less than 42 total pressures. Schwartz finished the season with just 32. He’s firmly established himself as one of the top pass blocking right tackles in the NFL. Run blocking, similar to most of the line, is certainly not his strong suit, but is still solid.
Mitch Morse
After two stellar first seasons in the NFL, Morse’s career was beginning to to seriously take off. Unfortunately Morse suffered a knee injury in week 2 that plagued him throughout the season, and he only ended up playing in 7 games. However, while Morse was on the field we at least got a glimpse at the player we’ve known him to become. A solid pass blocker with average run blocking. With Fulton demanding a new contract, there’s no controversy as to whether he’ll return as the starter.
Bryan Witzmann
For being an inexperienced starter who bounced around the NFL during the early days of his career, he performed about as well as you might tend to expect. Perhaps his best trait was that he was by far one of our best run blockers on the team. His pass blocking though, left much to be desired. Witzmann finished the season with a 95.1 PBE grade that ranked him 24th in the league among starters who played 75% of pass plays.
Lessons Learned
The Chiefs finished as the 9th rated offensive line in Pass Blocking Efficiency by PFF, and 12th in run blocking by Football Outsiders. A solid season all around, but there was still much to be desired.
Through the first 5 weeks of the season the line was playing as a top 5 unit in both previously mentioned categories. Then as many Chiefs fans know following week 5 we went on a 1-6 skid, and much of that lies on the shoulders of the offensive line.
Injuries to Mitch Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif made things difficult and is part of what led to the skid in performance. The Chiefs top two offensive line backups Zach Fulton and Jordan Devey are both likely to end up as free agents this offseason.
Brett Veach has already been hailed as a highly successful GM, but his true test will be his ability to build the offensive line. Perhaps the biggest lesson from the season is that the Chiefs should not stay content with 4/5 of their offensive line starters locked up for at least the next 2 seasons.