The Kansas City Chiefs made a calculated bet at the bottom of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. After trading back one spot with the Philadelphia Eagles to No. 32 overall, the Chiefs selected Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons, a high-end prospect who slid due to injury concerns.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed the media following Thursday's first round and explained why the team felt confident taking a risk on Simmons’ recovery from a serious knee injury.
“Josh, we felt, was a phenomenal athlete,” Reid said. “He would have been a higher pick, obviously, if he’d not been hurt. Rick Burkholder [Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance] has done a bunch of work on him and he’s in a good place.
"[Simmons] had a patellar tendon injury in his left knee and it’s healed well. He’s gone through all of the re-checks that he’s been required to do and we’ll just see where it goes from there, whether he does a rookie mini-camp or not. We’ll just see once he gets here what he can do there. He’s done well. Normally, those are six-month or so injuries and he’s right about that time out from being injured.”
The Chiefs pounced on the Ohio State tackle late in Round 1, trusting his recovery and long-term upside.
According to Reid, the expectation is that Simmons will be available in time for the most important stretch of the offseason. “He’ll definitely be ready for training camp. He’ll be able to do some stuff up until then, before that,” Reid said.
The Chiefs spent considerable time getting to know Simmons throughout the pre-draft process. Between Combine meetings, an official visit to Kansas City, and multiple virtual check-ins—including one the day before the draft—Reid said the team did its due diligence.
“We had a chance to bring him here. We met him at the Combine, so we had that visit with him. We brought him up here for one of the 30 visits and had a good visit with him there. We had a couple of different Zoom visits with him, as late as yesterday. Again, just to make sure we’re doing our homework there. We felt comfortable with it.”
The evaluation of Simmons’ talent level never wavered, even as injury concerns caused his stock to dip. In Reid’s view, Kansas City landed a premium player at a position of need.
“What you heard from the guys announcing this thing was true: he would have been a top five or 10 pick, and so it’s a position that we can use some good players at. In particular, at the left tackle spot when he can jump in there and do that. He’s flexible where he can play any spot, but we felt like he was a true left tackle," said Reid.
That positional flexibility will be important as the Chiefs assess the competition up front before the start of a new season. Kansas City has made multiple moves to shore up the offensive line this offseason, including the free-agent signing of Jaylon Moore, who is another versatile piece. Given the addition of Simmons, the tackle situation is rather fluid for the Chiefs.
“Yeah, we’ll see where it goes. Andy [Heck] plays those guys all over the place, so we’ll just try to find the five best and get him in there going. I feel like he can go in there. Again, the kid we picked up in free agency [Jaylon Moore] can play right or left, too, so we’ve got some flexibility there.”
Reid referenced the elite level of opposing pass rushers as an important reason why the risk was worth taking on a player like Simmons. Of course, protecting Patrick Mahomes is also paramount to the team's success.
“I think he’s good in the run and the pass game," said Reid. "Obviously, you’re looking for guys who can anchor down in the pass game, and that becomes important, especially on the left side with a right-handed quarterback. We have such good players that we go against who play that defensive end spot that it’s important that you get it.”