Five KC Chiefs who need a strong preseason to save their jobs

Geron Christian

This offseason with Lucas Niang still unproven and recovering from injury and Orlando Brown potentially holding out the Chiefs needed more depth at offensive tackle. They seemed to address that need with the signing of Geron Christian and by drafting Darian Kinnard. Kinnard was a powerful right tackle in college and Christian started 14 games, primarily at left tackle for the Houston Texans over the last two seasons where he was a respectable pass blocker.

This looked cut and dry to me. If Niang wasn’t ready to go Christian and Kinnard would be the depth tackles. I never even figured Roderick Johnson into the equation. He was a guy that they put on the practice squad at the end of the year and then signed to a reserve/futures deal. Those guys rarely stick for long. Instead, Johnson was the guy that got first string reps over Christian during Orlando Brown’s camp holdout.

On Sunday, reports said Christian did finally get some first string reps, but it’s clear that Christian’s role as the Chiefs swing tackle is far from secured. Christian has more experience than Johnson and is more of a proven commodity, but that doesn’t seem to have given him preferential treatment in camp. If Christian can’t prove he’s the more reliable tackle in the preseason his tenure in KC could be a really short one.

In a pass heavy offense like KC’s the ability to protect the quarterback is everything. So keep an eye on Christian and Johnson during the second or third string reps to see who looks to be the more reliable option. Johnson is a great story if he can hold off the more experienced option, but I wouldn’t rule out Christian just yet.

Next up a wide receiver with a big name, but very little recent production.