5 overlooked heroes who fueled Chiefs' dramatic Super Bowl LVIII victory
By Matt Conner
Nick Allegretti, OL
Speaking of Nick Allegretti, the Chiefs' super sub merited a mention of this own and we're happy to provide it.
If anyone fits the profile of an overlooked hero, it's a backup interior offensive lineman going to work as a starter while playing on a one-year deal to return to the team that drafted him. Allegretti is all of those things, but he's also always been a much better player than anyone could have predicted he'd become when the Chiefs made him their seventh-round pick back in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Back in his second season in the league in 2020, Allegretti was called upon to start several games at left guard in the wake of Andrew Wylie's injury. Since then he's proven capable of stepping in at a moment's notice with the versatility to also play center if needed. After the Chiefs lost Wylie to free agency last year, it made sense to bring back Allegretti on a one-year deal worth under $3 million.
Playing behind Joe Thuney and Trey Smith at guard isn't going to give much in the way of playing time, but Allegretti was the ideal fallback option when Thuney recently was lost with a pectoral injury. While the Chiefs missed their All-Pro lineman, Allegretti's presence proved to be enough to win on the road in Buffalo, again in Baltimore, and on the biggest stage of all against San Francisco.