The Kansas City Chiefs may be 11-1 on the season, but they have had two major issues on offense that have caused their games to be much closer than most fans are comfortable with. The first problem was a shortage of reliable wide receivers after injuries to Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Rashee Rice depleted the position. The acquisition of DeAndre Hopkins and the pending return of Brown have somewhat resolved the issue. However, the bigger problem recently has been the left tackle position.
Rookie Kingsley Suamataia started the season at left tackle, but he struggled out of the gate and was replaced by Wanya Morris after only a few games. Unfortunately, Morris hasn't fared much better, especially of late. There is speculation that Morris isn't fully healthy, but ultimately all that really matters is the results and those haven't been near good enough. That's why the Chiefs went out and signed former Arizona Cardinal D.J. Humphries.
Humphries is a former first-round draft pick by the Cardinals. He was with Arizona for nine seasons, making one Pro Bowl in 2021. Humphries was always a good athlete for an offensive lineman and had a natural competitive streak. He'll turn 31 later this month and is coming off a torn ACL from a little less than a year ago (Week 17 of the 2023 season). Had he not suffered that injury, he'd either still be in Arizona or would have likely received a respectable multi-year offer from another team.
On Monday, Andy Reid wouldn't commit to a starting left tackle, but said that the team would work Humphries into practice more this week to see how he feels. At this point, it's not about if they'll give him a shot to start, it's about when they feel as if he's physically ready to do it. That could be this week or it could be another week or two.
So what should Chiefs fans expect from D.J. Humphries if/when he takes over as the starting left tackle? Is it safe to assume that he'll be a clear upgrade over Suamataia/Morris?
To answer that we need to establish some kind of bar for Suamataia and Morris. While Pro Football Focus grades aren't perfect, they at least give you some kind of numbers to compare. Suamataia has an overall PFF grade of 36.7 and a 33.2 pass-blocking grade. He doesn't have enough snaps to officially qualify, but if he did, 36.7 would rank dead last amongst 76 tackles, and the 33.2 pass-blocking grade would be 2nd to last. Morris is slightly better at 50.7 overall with a 54.0 pass-blocking grade. That ranks him 69th (not nice) overall and 65th in pass blocking.
So basically, PFF has both Suamataia and Morris as two of the worst tackles (both overall and in pass protection) in the NFL this season. Kansas City's two left tackles have combined to allow 8 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 46 total pressures in 522 pass-blocking snaps. That's a pressure on about 8.8% of passes. That number is not much different than last season when the combination of Morris and regular starter Donovan Smith allowed 66 total pressures on 741 pass-blocking snaps for an 8.9% pressure rate allowed.
The big difference is that last year not as many of those pressures ended up turning into sacks. Morris/Smith only allowed 4 sacks last season and Suamataia/Morris have already allowed double that number through 12 games. That matches the eye test. While the number of total pressures is about the same, Suamataia/Morris have had far more "bad losses" where the defender beats them so quickly that Patrick Mahomes has no time to escape.
Can Humphries improve upon those numbers? Well, the answer to that will definitely rely on his healthy and playing shape. If Humphries' mobility is greatly reduced from last season it could cause his level of play to suffer. Chiefs fans should keep that in mind if Kansas City decides to play it safe with Humphries and give him more time to get into playing shape. The Chiefs will rightly prioritize their playoff run over getting him on the field ASAP.
That being said, if K.C. gets a similar version of Humphries to what he was last season, what will that look like? The good news is that it should in fact be a noticeable upgrade over what we've seen from KC's left tackles this season (not that it's a high bar to clear). Humphries had 568 pass-blocking snaps last season. That's comparable to the 522 combined pass-blocking snaps that Suamataia/Morris have had this season. Whereas KC's tackles have allowed 8 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 46 total pressures, Humphries allowed 4 sacks, 5 quarterback hits, and 28 total pressures on 46 more pass-blocking snaps last season.
Humphries' pressure rate allowed last season was just 4.9%. That in and of itself would be enough to help Patrick Mahomes, but the biggest upgrade is actually in the number of immediate losses that lead to sacks or quarterback hits. Suamataia and Morris have allowed a sack or QB hit on 3.8% of their pass-blocking snaps. Humphries allowed a sack or QB hit on just 1.6% of his pass-blocking snaps last season.
If you wanted another point of comparison, let's compare that to Jawaan Taylor this season. Taylor has allowed 7 sacks, 5 quarterback hits, and 28 total pressures on 524 pass blocking snaps. That's a 5.3% total pressure rate allowed and a 2.3% sack/QB hit rate. So last season Humphries was better than Taylor has been this season as well.
I've got one more for you. This season Orlando Brown Jr. has only allowed 3 sacks, 3 quarterback hits, and 13 total pressures on 325 pass blocking snaps for the Cincinnati Bengals. That's just a 4% total pressure rate and a 1.8% sack/QB hit rate. However, that's not an apples-to-apples comparison. If we go back to Brown's last season in K.C. playing in this system with Patrick Mahomes, he allowed 4 sacks, 7 QB hits, and 47 total pressures on a whopping 769 pass-blocking snaps. That's a 6.1% pressure rate allowed and a 1.4% sacks/QB hit rate. So last season, Humphries was a little better in total pressures allowed and about the same in sacks/QB hits when compared to Brown's last season in KC.
The bottom line here is that so far this season the Chiefs have had terrible left tackle play, especially in pass protection. If Humphries can regain at least close to his form from last season for KC, it should be a noticeable improvement. If he can give the Chiefs average left tackle play, it should allow Mahomes to relax in the pocket and give him the time to attack down the field more. That could open things up for more big plays to Xavier Worthy—and if Hollywood Brown returns that will only help things as well.
The Chiefs may still have some questions with their pass defense, but there is certainly reason to believe that the 11-1 Kansas City Chiefs could get significantly better on offense down the stretch and heading into the playoffs if Humphries and Brown can come in and contribute at a level that we're used to seeing from them. That's a scary thought for the rest of the NFL and a reason for Chiefs fans to believe that the Chiefs could peak at just the right time again this season.