Yasir Durant could be the next swing tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs have an intriguing (and mammoth) tackle prospect in Yasir Durant.

Every year, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves surprised by the awareness and ability of a rookie who was passed over in the previous spring’s first-year player draft. And every year, we find those undrafted free agents sneaking onto the team’s active roster heading into the regular season. This year, former Missouri offensive tackle Yasir Durant has a decent chance of being such a success story.

Durant enters the NFL with plenty of starting experience as the left tackle for the Tigers for each of the last three seasons. Durant took over the starting spot from an incumbent (Tyler Howell) after transferring in from the JuCo ranks in 2017 and never looked back. That means he’s matched up with the SEC’s finest in that span and lived to tell the tale.

With a frame that reaches 6’7″ and 330 pounds, Durant is a mammoth tackle prospect who immediately impresses with his size and strength. What’s surprising given his stature is his leverage and footwork. That said, Durant isn’t quite as athletic as the Chiefs might like, and he’s subpar as a run blocker. But he’s a very solid pass protector and keeping Patrick Mahomes upright is the first order of business on this team.

For the Chiefs, the role of swing tackle is open for business with the departure of Cam Erving in free agency to the Dallas Cowboys. There are options already on the team, rookies and vets alike, but Durant is actually in a nice spot here if he can impress the Chiefs in training camp.

One signal that the Chiefs already like Durant quite a bit is their willingness to pay him $150K guaranteed in order to sign. Only three rookie free agents were given more than the Chiefs gave Durant, which means the Mizzou tackle was likely higher on their draft board than other options.

Both tackle spots are obviously spoken for with Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz starting at left and right tackle, respectively. From there, the Chiefs invested a third round pick in Lucas Niang, a tackle from Texas Christian. However, the team has been vocal about wanting to move Niang inside early in his career to compete at starting reps at guard while K.C. also employs Fisher and Schwartz. It’s possible that Niang ends up outside someday, but none of this should affect Durant’s standing.

At this point, the backup linemen appear to be veteran Mike Remmers (signed this offseason as a free agent), Nick Allegretti (last year’s seventh round pick), Andrew Wylie (assuming Niang grabs the starting LG role), and Martinas Rankin (the return in the Carlos Hyde trade last summer). In addition, the Chiefs are looking at Ryan Hunter, Greg Senat, Jackson Barton, Darryl Williams, and Jovahn Fair.

Specifically in relation to Durant, it’s important to note that most of the backups with an edge on the active roster spots are largely interior guys. Remmers is the only one to consider here, but Remmers is also super versatile with starting experience everywhere but center. Rankin can also kick outside but it’s clearly not his best position.

The Chiefs rolled with 9 to 10 offensive linemen last season on the active roster, so there’s room on the fringe for Durant to be the guy if he can impress. The Chiefs could roll with Fisher, Niang, Austin Reiter, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, and Schwartz across the front, followed by Durant, Wylie, Allegretti, Remmers, and Rankin. That’s a solid core of 10 linemen with plenty of potential to grow into solid contributors with the security of having plenty of starting experience in case of emergency as well.

The Chiefs are clearly enamored with Durant’s size and skill set to date and wanted to be the franchise with the chance to see him up close. The opportunity is now in front of him to seize for the next month. If the Chiefs can develop Durant to be a pro-level swing tackle, it could be the latest, and largest, surprise to make the roster.