How good is the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line?

If we were to try to summarize the play of the Chiefs offensive line by players last season, the easiest way to describe it would be to say they had really good tackle play from Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher and a mix of guys on the interior that did enough to get the job done.

Schwartz and Fisher started every game and, while it was Fisher that earned his first Pro Bowl appearance, it is Schwartz that is widely viewed as one of the best tackles in football—and arguably the best right tackle in the game. Thanks to an offseason extension for Schwartz both tackles are now under contract for at least the next three seasons and are the foundation of the Chiefs line. Barring injury, there isn’t any reason to think the tackle play won’t be just as good in 2019.

The other player that is supposed to be a foundational piece of the offensive line is guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif who signed a huge deal but only appeared in five games last season due to injury. LDT has shown the power and drive on the interior that the Chiefs were lacking at times last season with him out. He also has yet to have a truly dominant season that might justify the hefty paycheck that he received. Should the good doctor be fully healthy for the coming season and he takes that next step that the Chiefs clearly believed he would when they extended him, it could be enough to push the Chiefs offensive line up into the top ten of the NFL.

While the Chiefs will hopefully be returning a fully healthy Duvernay-Tardif, they will be without their starting center for most of last few seasons. Mitch Morse received a huge payday from the Buffalo Bills this offseason, so now the Chiefs will turn to Austin Reiter to fill his spot.

Reiter is a former late-round pick by the Washington Redskins who the Chiefs picked up off waivers last season when he was released by the Cleveland Browns. Despite being a waiver pick up and the Chiefs being his third team in his first four seasons of the NFL, the Chiefs saw enough from Reiter when he filled in for Morse to give him a small extension and make him the starter this season. In Reiter’s four starts last season Pro Football Focus actually had him graded out higher than Morse, but obviously there are sample size issues with that evaluation.

My own personal take on Reiter is that he isn’t as athletic as Morse, nor does he move as well, but he may actually be a little better at the point of attack. Perhaps Reiter will prove the Chiefs were smart in letting Morse walk and promoting him with his play this season or perhaps he will look like a late round draft pick that has bounced around the NFL early in his career. Either way, Reiter is probably the biggest wild card on the line this season. The Chiefs also drafted a potential heir to the center position in Nick Allegretti. It’s doubtful that Allegretti will unseat a veteran like Reiter in his rookie year, but its certainly possible that the Chiefs see him as an option down the road.

The final guard spot appears to be Andrew Wylie‘s to lose. After starting most of the season at right guard after LDT went down Wylie is now moving to left guard where Cam Erving started much of last season. Wylie was a surprise after taking over for LDT last season as an undrafted free agent. He was voted by the team as the Chiefs rookie of the year for his effort and it says something that he has basically been handed the starting left guard spot over Erving who has the bigger name and bigger contract.

Erving was not great last season and finished as PFF’s lowest graded Chiefs lineman. While Wylie finished as PFF’s #27 overall guard, Erving was 75th. Erving still has value off the bench as a guy who can play most of the positions across the line, he’s just not a guy you want penciled in as a starter at the beginning of the year.

Wylie may now be the Chiefs most athletic interior lineman with the departure of Morse, so don’t be surprised if you see him as the lineman that pulls outside on some screens and swing passes. The other long term option at the other guard spot could be Khalil McKenzie. The former draft pick and college defensive lineman is a project player for the Chiefs entering his second year. It will be interesting to see if McKenzie shows much growth in training camp and the preseason after a full year at his new position.

If the Chiefs line stays healthy I believe there is absolutely reason to believe that the line can be improved in 2019. Even if Reiter is a slight downgrade from Mitch Morse overall I believe that the return of LDT and subsequent pushing of Cam Erving back to the bench will be a big enough upgrade to make up for it. If the Chiefs prove to have found two diamonds in the rough in Reiter and Wylie and they continue to build on solid years last year then this line could legitimately push to be one of the five best in the NFL. Then again, if Reiter and Wylie take a step back in their play from last season and injuries push Erving back into the starting lineup then it’s also possible that the line could take a step back from last year.

Regardless, the offensive line probably won’t make the top of the list of things to watch in training camp later this month. There isn’t a lot of competition for starting spots and overall it doesn’t seem to be a big concern for most fans. That doesn’t mean that the line isn’t just as important as it always has been, it just means that they are flying under the radar this season.

In the world of an offensive lineman you often aren’t noticed or talked about unless you mess up. If the offensive line continues to fly under the radar while other positions get all the headlines, that will likely be just fine with the Chiefs. Mahomes may get all the highlights and headlines, but the big guys up front know that it all starts with them.