How good is the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line?

There hasn’t been a lot of talk about the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line this offseason. Is that a good thing? Just how good can they be in 2019?

In the early 2000s, the Kansas City Chiefs boasted one of the best offensive lines in NFL history under head coach Dick Vermeil. The line was dominant and a huge part of one of the most explosive offenses that the franchise has seen. Since that line disbanded well over a decade ago, it has felt like the Chiefs have constantly been trying to reclaim some kind of consistency in their offensive line play.

During the Alex Smith era, as the Chiefs quarterback, it felt like the offensive line was a constant topic of discussion. This made sense for a couple of reasons. First, the line play was, at times, inconsistent. Second, because of Smith’s play, a top-flight offensive line was necessary. Smith needed a reliable run game and was also known to drop his eyes and run if pressure got to him.

While Smith did a lot of good things in K.C., he did put more pressure on his offensive line to help him get the offense going. With the arrival of Patrick Mahomes as the starting quarterback last season a new era of the Chiefs offense arrived with him.

Mahomes is one of those rare quarterbacks who can carry an offense with his special play. That’s not to in any way insinuate that he doesn’t need a reliable offensive line or playmakers around him to succeed; it just means that Mahomes is capable of making something special happen on any given play, even if something breaks down elsewhere on the field.

I believe that is at least part of the reason that there wasn’t much discussion about the Chiefs offensive line this offseason. In previous years, if the Chiefs lost their starting center and were set to start a second year undrafted player and a former seventh round pick that they claimed off the NFL scrap heap, it would have raised major concerns. There would have been people calling for the Chiefs to draft offensive line help early in the draft.

Instead, the offensive line has been an afterthought. The bulk of the offseason has been spent discussing the defensive makeover, the Tyreek Hill drama off of the field, and the continued mania surrounding their young phenom quarterback. The general consensus from Chiefs fans regarding the offensive line seems to be, “Yeah, they’ll be fine.”

Part of the reason for that response is that the line play last season really was pretty good. I would stop short of saying that the Chiefs had a great offensive line, but they were certainly good enough for the Chiefs to have the best offense in all of football last season.