KC Chiefs vs. Broncos: How will things shake out at right tackle?

Coming out of the bye week, the Kansas City Chiefs are fortunate enough to be one of the healthier franchises in the National Football League at present. While other teams have lost a superstar player here and there, the Chiefs have remained healthy at the most important positions and/or have gotten that way after suffering some early season injuries.

The one position that remains in flux, however, is at right tackle, a position which Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said was not solved by the team’s ability to take some time off in Week 12.

During the last couple of games, the Chiefs have relied on Andrew Wylie to line up across from Orlando Brown Jr., a less-than-desirable scenario in which the team is pushing a reliable interior lineman on the edge where Patrick Mahomes is much more vulnerable and Wylie is ill-suited. That’s not a knock on Wylie, who has actually done a better job than expected out there. It’s just the obvious downgrade when you’re asking a fourth player to fill in.

After getting some time to rest, let’s look at the Chiefs options coming up and how things might play out.

Lucas Niang

Niang began the season as the Week 1 starter despite the fact that he’d missed the entire 2020 season after opting out due to COVID-19. The fact that he was a holdover rookie starting outside from his first official week on the job was a testament to his talent and his work ethic while away, but it also pointed to the lack of an obvious other choice on the roster, especially with Kyle Long injured (more on that in a second).

Niang looked solid outside for the Chiefs while making some expected mistakes, but a hamstring injury kept him from starting in Week 6 against the Washington Football Team. Mike Remmers, who’d been injured in the preseason, took over and head coach Andy Reid seemed content to stick with the experienced hand for a bit longer. Remmers wouldn’t last long before succumbing to another injury (see below), which brought Niang back into the fold as the starter.

During the Chiefs’ win over the Green Bay Packers at midseason, Niang left the game with a rib injury that made him questionable to return. Since then, however, Niang has gone on to miss the next two games entirely before also getting a third week off with the bye.

Does this mean he’s ready to come back? The lack of IR placement for Niang insinuates that he’s closer to being ready than not, but Reid told reporters that nothing is certain just yet.

Is that promising? Is that unlikely? Are the Chiefs being coy with the press so as not to reveal their hand to the Broncos? Would that really matter that much anyway? If it’s up in the air and truly a sort of “we’ll see” approach, then this could be a bigger problem for the Chiefs than what we might have hoped coming out of the bye.