Five KC Chiefs free agents-to-be who have earned new contracts in 2022
By Matt Conner
Orlando Brown Jr.
If Tyrann Mathieu is a slam dunk (wrong sports analogy, we know) then Orlando Brown Jr. is a sort of 1A on the offseason list for general manager Brett Veach. The Chiefs invested heavily in bringing in Orlando Brown Jr. and the results have been as hoped for the former Baltimore Ravens tackle in Kansas City.
When the Chiefs missed out on Trent Williams in free agency, Brown was the biggest available prize in either market—trade or free agency—and the Chiefs were forced to part with their own first-round pick in ’21 as part of the deal. While it’s possible the Chiefs could still recoup a future compensatory pick late in the third round if they’d absolutely hated Brown in the starting line, the truth is that a deal was always going to get done with Brown.
Brown is by far the single biggest player on the roster and he looks and acts the part. In the running game, that’s great. In the passing game, that can sometimes be used against him by the league’s best pass rusher. But that’s true against any tackle, which is what makes the likes of Joey Bosa or T.J. Watt so effective in the first place.
The truth is that Brown is a two-time Pro Bowl performer who is still only 25 years old and is getting better and better each week protecting for Patrick Mahomes in Andy Reid’s offense. Veach and company should have zero hesitation about signing up for another 4-5 seasons of Brown as the blindside protector through Mahomes’ prime seasons in K.C.