Chiefs roster evaluation: Offensive line outperforms lingering concerns
By Scott Loring
What actually happened
As a unit, the group arrived at training camp in good health. A couple of roster battles became evident early, as Wylie was challenging Erving for the starting LG spot. Reiter seemed to have the upper hand over Murray as the center from the get-go, and he never relented his right to stay there. Kansas City tried their best to continue McKenzie’s development, and the expectation for the former Tennessee Volunteer was that he would, at a minimum, be a backup at guard. But the potential never translated, and McKenzie was cut after the final preseason game. Murray did not make the final cut, either.
When the dust settled around the 53-man roster, the Chiefs decided to keep nine offensive linemen: Starters (left-to-right) Fisher, Wylie, Reiter, Duvernay-Tardif, and Schwartz, as well as Erving, Rankin, Hunter and Allegretti. Wylie outplayed Erving in all facets of the game in the preseason and was a fan favorite to earn the last starting job. This freed up Erving to play as the team’s swing tackle, while Rankin, Hunter and Allegretti filled out the rest of the roster. Allen was a surprise on cut-down day, but he was re-signed days later after the team placed Chad Henne on IR with the plan to bring him back later in the season.
On the Friday before the Chiefs’ Week 2 game at Oakland, Fisher suffered a groin injury and did not return to practice. Just before kickoff, the team decided he’d be able to play, but Fisher lasted just four snaps before leaving for good. To the chagrin of Chiefs Kingdom, it was discovered that Fisher had torn a core muscle (likely exacerbated during the game) and would have to undergo surgery. The Chiefs would be without their starter at possibly the most important position on the line.
Fisher would miss the next eight games for the Chiefs, and Erving filled in at left tackle. It was not pretty. The former Florida State Seminole struggled in Fisher’s place, allowing five sacks (most on the team in 2019) while committing seven penalties (second-most on the team behind Reiter, who played almost twice the snaps that Erving did).
Duvernay-Tardif played a sufficient, if not good, season in 2019. The Canadian Doctor committed three penalties and allowed just two sacks on the season. In Week 8 against the Packers, Duvernay-Tardif went down with an ankle injury and was replaced in the lineup by Rankin, who held his own. Rankin logged 273 snaps on the season and committed zero penalties before his season ended suddenly in Week 10 at Tennessee when he suffered an injury to his right patella.
In Week 11, both Fisher and Duvernay-Tardif returned to the lineup when the Chiefs traveled to Mexico to take on the Chargers. Fisher struggled in the second half, but the Chiefs were able to squeak out a win and keep footing in the division race before their Week 12 bye. After a couple weeks to get his feet wet, Fisher settled in comfortably. The former first overall pick committed zero holding penalties in 2019. It should not go unnoticed that the Chiefs were 11-0 in games (regular season and postseason) in which he played.
Wylie’s season started off good enough. But as the year went on, the wheels started to fall off. In October, the team released Allen in a corresponding move after activating cornerback Morris Claiborne, who had been suspended for the first four games of the season. A week later, when Wylie was lost for a month with an injury, Rankin was inserted into the starting lineup and the team inked veteran Stefen Wisniewski for depth. Wylie would return in Week 9, and started until losing his job in Week 16. Wylie did not log one snap in the playoffs, yielding to Wisniewski, who played at a very high level in his place.
Reiter and Schwartz were the only two players to start all 19 games for the Chiefs (regular season and playoffs). Reiter graded out average, committing eight penalties in the regular season but none in the postseason. But it should not be overlooked that there were never any center-quarterback exchange issues, or wild snaps all season. Operating mostly from the shotgun, Mahomes never had any problems corraling Reiter’s snaps.
Schwartz had a flat-out incredible season and proved once again why he is the best right tackle in the NFL. Sadly, his remarkable streak of 7,894 snaps came to an end in the 2nd quarter in Tennessee when Schwartz’s leg got rolled over by a teammate. The 6’5″ 320-lb. Schwartz returned to action just three plays later, but the impressive streak (which began with his NFL career) came to an end. The eight-year pro allowed zero sacks in 2019, and finished as the NFL’s highest-graded pass-blocking right tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Chiefs also acquired two young tackles during the regular season, signing Greg Senat off of Baltimore’s practice squad just days before the Chiefs’ Week 3 match against the Ravens, and then in Week 11 after the injury to Rankin, the Chiefs secured Jackson Barton, a 7th round selection by the Colts in the 2019 draft. Neither played a down for the Chiefs in 2019, but both are under contract in 2020.
As a unit, the line overcame adversity time and time again in 2020. Playing multiple games without several key contributors, the reserves stepped in and played well enough to keep Mahomes in position to do what he does best. In the team’s four losses to the Colts, Texans, Packers and Titans, there is one common denominator. Fisher was out of all four of those games, Wylie missed all or part of three of them, and Duvernay-Tardif missed all or part of two.