Which position groups are strongest for the Kansas City Chiefs?
Offensive Line
While Patrick Mahomes was one of the least sacked quarterbacks in the league last year, he was also one of the most pressured. While this seems illogical, he was able to usually avoid taking a sack because of his athleticism. With the departure of long-time starting center Mitch Morse, is the offensive line one of the position groups fans should be worried about in 2019?
Below is a list of the most promising prospects for this position group. Likely roles is merely a way-too-early prediction of what this unit will look like heading into camp, and could look completely different once the season starts.
Luckily for the Chiefs, this offensive line should be one of the most improved position groups in 2019. Even though Morse has departed, they should be able to maintain decent consistency as Austin Reiter started four games last year at center. According to Pro Football Focus, he graded “Above Average” to “Good” in all categories. Specifically, he graded extremely highly in pass blocking.
2019 will also mark the return of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Duvernay-Tardif was relegated to injured reserve following the fifth game of the 2018 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Duvernay-Tardif has long been a consistent presence on the Chiefs’ offensive line, and the unit should see a significant boost with his return.
Finally, an interesting player to watch in 2019 will be Andy Reid experiment, Khalil McKenzie. While McKenzie did not see a single snap in the 2018 regular season, the Chiefs committed to keeping him on the active roster. Why? Because it’s likely if they had cut him and attempted to resign him to the practice squad, another team would have picked him up.
This may seem odd, as McKenzie played defensive line in college, but, at 6’3″ and 314 pounds, McKenzie has at least the physical build to be a quality guard in the NFL. The Chiefs had a goal of inserting him in the rotation by training camp this year, so will be interesting to see what a year of development has done for him.