Kansas City Chiefs’ most intriguing position battles for 2023
By Matt Conner
Donovan Smith vs. Wanya Morris vs. Lucas Niang
The Battle: A starting offensive tackle spot of some kind. Since we’re not sure how all things tackle will shake out, we just these are the competitors for something next opposite from Jawaan Taylor.
Why Smith could win it: Donovan Smith has been a mainstay at left tackle for the last eight seasons and he’s still not quite 30 years old. He got the job done for the most successful quarterback of all time, and there’s a reason the Chiefs brought him in to block for Mahomes. Smith wasn’t at his best last year, but the Bucs were a total mess and he was dealing with an elbow injury.
Why Morris could win it: The Chiefs have the new veteran and comeback candidate also in-house, which makes it a popular notion to give Wanya Morris a redshirt season after being selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. But Morris was well-coached and has plenty of college experience, so it’s not as if he should be treated as some long-term project. The tools are there to shine brighter than the other options and the Chiefs’ coaches have made more with less.
Why Niang could win it: Most Chiefs fans have likely forgotten how solid Niang could look at times given how long it’s been since he’s held a role down (or how disheartening his injury history can be). Niang was a third-round pick for a reason, however, and he ended up earning starting reps from the very beginning of his rookie year—and that came after a long time away from the game following his decision to opt out in 2020. He’s had time to heal from the patellar injury and he’s gonna be super-motivated to reclaim what was once his.