Geron Christian gives the Chiefs a solid swing tackle for 2022

We spoke to a couple of experts who have watched Geron Christian in the past to get a better idea of what he will provide for the Chiefs in 2022.

Over the weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs announced a couple of signings to bolster the trenches with the re-signing of defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and the addition of a new face in offensive tackle Geron Christian.

For many Chiefs fans, the introduction of Christian brought a new face to the foreground since offensive linemen aren’t exactly in the spotlight on a regular basis and backups are even less so. For Chiefs Kingdom, the questions around the signing were simple to understand: what did the Chiefs see in Christian, and what did he bring to the team?

On the surface, Christian is a four-year NFL veteran who was drafted by the Washington Football Team in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft and lasted three years there before he was released after the team failed to find a trade partner and the Houston Texans took advantage and claimed him to supply another body at tackle.

Given the level of injuries last season to the Texans’ front line, including Laremy Tunsil’s issues, Christian found himself with more playing time than ever. He made eight total starts and appeared in 14 of 17 games for Houston in a miserable season after which the team cleared house once again in the coaching ranks.

Now the Chiefs have signed Christian to a modest one-year deal with an eye on potential competition at right tackle and some security on the roster with Christian’s experience on both sides of the line. He started all those games on the left side for the Texans last year, and he was a left tackle in college at Louisville. However, he’s played the right side at the pro level, too, and offers the Chiefs someone who can play if Lucas Niang remains injured.

We recently reached out to a couple of friends who have watched Christian up close in years past to tell us a bit more about the Chiefs’ latest acquisition and the results fall in line largely with what we’ve already suspected. Jerry Trotta, the editor of Riggo’s Rag, saw Christian in Washington for three seasons and answered our question as to why the team let him go last spring.

“I think it mostly boiled down to his technique on the outside,” said Trotta. “He’s just one of those elite college athletes that never panned out in the NFL. With Saahdiq Charles and Cornelius Lucas already on the roster and Washington drafting Sam Cosmi in the second round last year, he became expendable and Washington pulled the plug. I think it’s as simple as he struggled to adapt to the NFL and there were superior options on the roster that gave Washington an excuse to move on.”

As for his most recent season with the Texans, Toro Times editor Aarron Van Buren had some insightful things to add about his improvement last year and what the Chiefs can expect.

“Geron Christian stepped in for the Houston Texans when Laremy Tunsil left the game against the Patriots in Week 5. Tunsil’s thumb injury paved the way for Christian to be the blindside protector for Davis Mills. Christian still had to face Chandler Jones, J.J. Watt, Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, and Jaelan Phillips.

“Christian did a really good job and only allowed one sack in 14 games according to PFF. His grade was 59.5, but this is an instance of quality being better than quantity. He has the potential to be a starter, but I don’t see him taking the left tackle spot from Orlando Brown Jr. He’s a solid backup who will perform as required when he’s called upon.”