The Kansas City Chiefs need a new left tackle. Everyone knows it, and general manager Brett Veach has made that clear in his own remarks to the press. Now the challenge is how he's going to find one.
The Chiefs have some internal options to develop and some external ones to sort through. However, when it comes to the "best-case scenario" for the Chiefs, at least when it comes to the 2025 NFL Draft, Pro Football Focus's Mason Cameron says the answer is found in a special first-round prospect: Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons.
Simmons is a high-ceiling talent who would normally be long gone by the time the Chiefs will be making their selection at the end of the first round at No. 31 overall. The Chiefs have struck out in previous seasons when trying to move up enough to land a top-flight tackle and that's likely going to remain true given the need at the position around the entire league. Franchise tackles are a rare commodity and teams often take swings at them near the top of the draft.
This season, Simmons should be one such player except he was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury against Oregon in mid-October. His recovery is going to be something for teams to monitor, and the Chiefs will undoubtedly be checking over his medical records with great interest.
Should enough teams flinch at a recently-injured player coming into the NFL, the Chiefs might find themselves with a real chance to grab a franchise tackle—or at least a hopeful one. That said, nothing is guaranteed and many teams will feel comfortable with Simmons' body of work to take him anyway. Hence the reason why Simmons has been called a "best-case scenario" and not a likely one.
As for left tackle, the Chiefs tried four separate competitors there a year ago with Kingsley Suamataia, Wanya Morris, D.J. Humphries, and Joe Thuney. The first two remain in-house prospects who could develop into something meaningful there. Humphries could also be re-signed as a veteran option to compete in camp. Thuney will slide back over to his role as an All-Pro guard for next season.