By now, the Kansas City Chiefs had hoped to have found their long-term answer at left tackle by making high-level investments in each of the last two NFL Drafts. While that's still possible, the early returns aren't promising enough to allow the Chiefs to look elsewhere.
In his latest mock draft for the Pro Football Network, Jacob Infante has the Chiefs selecting at No. 31 overall. And with their initial choice in his seven-round mock, the Chiefs take Justin Simmons, an offensive tackle out of Ohio State. Infante writes:
"Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury in October, but his tape before that looked worthy of a top-15 selection. He's a natural lateral athlete who moves very well in pass protection, and he maximizes his power with proper leverage and good pad distribution when he engages in contact."
Using a first-round pick on a tackle will come as both good and bad news to Chiefs draftniks. On the plus side, the Chiefs have a clear need at left tackle. They're crossing their fingers that D.J. Humphries has enough in the tank to come back and hold things down for the rest of this season—and that's even if he can stay healthy. Going into next year, there is nothing certain at the position.
On the downside, those same draft fans will roll their eyes at yet another investment at left tackle in successive classes. Kingsley Suamataia was the Chiefs' second-round pick out of BYU just a year ago and basically used this season to redshirt. Two years ago, it was a third-round pick in Wanya Morris, who's served as a spot starter in each of the last two seasons.
Even before those picks, the Chiefs have struggled to find a real answer at left tackle. A blockbuster trade for Orlando Brown failed to solve things for more than two seasons, while other draft flyers—Lucas Niang, Darian Kinnard—haven't worked out either.
If Simmons can hold things down, the pick would be applauded for years to come, but the Chiefs simply cannot afford to swing-and-miss again with such valuable assets.