Kahlil Benson's ascent up the depth chart—or that he even made the Kansas City Chiefs roster in the first place—has been one of the biggest stories of the team's offseason. Apparently that climb is nearly complete with the news that Benson is expected to be the team's starting left tackle in Week 1.
The Chiefs host the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football to open the year, and Patrick Mahomes will be making his long-awaited return to the field after suffering torn knee ligaments last December. Keeping Mahomes upright will be perhaps the most important task of the night for any player, and, at this point, head coach Andy Reid says Benson will be one of the five up front.
Reid met with reporters on Tuesday in his first official press conference to kick off Week 1. He was peppered with numerous questions about the situation at left tackle and how incumbent starter Josh Simmons is handling a back injury that kept him out through the end of the preseason. From the sound of things, Reid says he's not expecting Simmons to be available. "There's a good chance that Josh doesn't play this week. That's where we're at," he said.
Kahlil Benson is poised to replace Josh Simmons at left tacklea
In his place, the Chiefs will turn to Benson, although at first, Reid wasn't willing to confirm that he would slot immediately at left tackle. During training camp, the Chiefs would often rotate Benson with Jaylon Moore for first-team right tackle reps. Then, when Simmons was injured, Benson slid over to man the position. When asked how the line would look, Reid tried to pull his cards back closer to his proverbial vest.
"We'll see where all that goes. I'm not telling you that, but we're comfortable with Kahlil on either side. I mean, he's been playing the left side, so we feel comfortable with that. We'll end up playing the five best guys and, right now, he's one of them," said Reid.
Later, however, when pressed on Benson, Reid basically admitted that he would be the one on the left side if Simmons is unable to go. "The guy that's been playing left [tackle] is Kahlil. He's been the one over there. I mean, you guys are out at every practice. You see it, so he's the one who's been in there going and doing a nice job with it. If he has to be the left tackle, then he's the left tackle and we roll with it. That's just how it goes."
Benson was already the surprise of the spring when he landed a rookie free agent deal after going unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft. Despite his extensive starting experience in college that included a national championship run with the Indiana Hoosiers last winter, Benson was forced to settle for scraps at first. However, he made the most of that opportunity, and the Chiefs were clearly impressed with his performance in OTAs and minicamp. By the time it was time to report to St. Joseph for training camp, Brett Veach had already traded away Wanya Morris to make room for Benson.
Andy Reid pushes back on speculation surrounding Josh Simmons
Speaking of Simmons, Reid started his media session with an explanation that it's nothing more than the persistence of a back injury that is keeping the team's 2025 first-round pick out of the lineup. Social media chatter has furthered false narratives questioning Simmons' love of the game after he missed four games a year ago due to "personal reasons." But Reid spoke directly to those criticisms in his opening remarks.
"As far as Josh Simmons goes, I know that's another question people have ... Josh is rehabbing, he's working his tail off. This isn't something that's anything other than him having an issue with his back. It's just a matter of time here, you know? But he continues to work hard with Rick [Burkholder, the Chiefs' vice president of sports medicine and Performance] and do his part there," said Reid.
While things are still malleable, Reid intimated that the Chiefs will be looking at a starting offensive front of Benson, Kingsley Suamataia, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, and Jaylon Moore from left to right. That's a tough assignment out of the gate for any lineman, given the depth and talent of Denver's defense. But the Chiefs apparently trust Benson to get the job done after watching him already climb this far.
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