Mitchell Schwartz, Eric Fisher listed among best tackle tandems in NFL

The Kansas City Chiefs have one of the best tackle duos in NFL, per PFF.

These days, it can be hard to find quality offensive line play in the National Football League. Most teams have at least one or more positions along their front five they’d love to upgrade, and it’s even more true along the outside positions at left and right tackle—where the best prospects each year get taken very, very early in the annual first-year player draft.

Fortunately for the reigning champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, the tackle positions are in good hands. Between left tackle Eric Fisher and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, Pro Football Focus says the Chiefs have one of the best tandems in the entire game—the fifth best actually—in their latest set of offseason rankings.

Schwartz is the more heralded of the two—and for good reason. The Chiefs right tackle is considered one of the very best in the game, a man who has been named first- or second-team All-Pro in each of the last four seasons. As one of the single best signings in Chiefs free agent history, Schwartz is under contract for two more seasons and it’s likely safe to assume the Chiefs will be interested in further years as long as Schwartz wants to play football. Check out what PFF has to say about Schwartz in particular:

"His postseason run provides an idea of the kind of level he’s been playing at in recent seasons. On 142 pass-blocking snaps, Schwartz allowed just one hurry."

As for Fisher, the former No. 1 overall pick will have that draft position held over his head until retirement, but the Chiefs actually did very well to take Fisher over the other candidates atop the 2013 draft. He’s been an ironman in his own right over the years and when he went down with injury last season (for his first games missed since 2013), the effects were clearly seen as Cam Erving and company attempted to take over. From PFF:

"His 2019 season was shortened by injury, but Fisher still produced a 74.2 pass-blocking grade during the regular season, a figure that doesn’t include strong performances against the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans in the postseason."

What’s important to take away from the folks at PFF on this whole topic is that their grades and insights reflect a tackle tandem for the Chiefs who played at the highest level at the end of such a long, grueling season. In fact, PFF makes note of their performances in the biggest games with the most on the line. Fisher and Schwartz didn’t just provide the Chiefs with solid, consistent play at the tackle positions. They played at an elevated level when it really mattered, even in games 17, 18 and beyond on the year.

Fortunately for the Chiefs, the tackles are likely in place for some time to come with added flexibility after drafting Lucas Niang in the third round of this year’s draft. The Chiefs are in good hands with the potential for a solid transition in the near future—the sort of position most NFL teams would love to be in.