KC Chiefs will continue to add competition at left tackle

Few jobs are more important for the Kansas City Chiefs than the man tasked with protecting the blind side of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Perhaps that's why general manager Brett Veach made it clear that he's got some work to do at the position.

Coming into another NFL offseason, the Chiefs just won a second consecutive Super Bowl with a mix of veteran Donovan Smith and rookie Wanya Morris sharing the job at left tackle. While together they got the job done, no one in the NFL would point to those competitors and rank them among the league's best. Still, Veach is not going to rest on his laurels.

When speaking to local reporters from the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Veach spoke about the state of the offensive line and particularly the players vying for the job to anchor the left side this coming season.

Wanya Morris will be in the mix of competitors but the left tackle job won't be given to him.

The Chiefs have some options already on the roster at left tackle with Morris coming into his second season. With several games of starting experience under his belt and a full year of training, conditioning, and studying at the professional level, the game should slow down for him in year two. That should give him the edge over anyone for the role if Veach stays young.

“Wanya [Morris] had a chance to get his feet wet. And there was some good. And it wasn’t perfect. It was, I think, what you’d expect (from) a rookie,” Veach said, per the Kansas City Star. “But I think the ability’s there, and I think that there’s a great platform and foundation for him now moving forward.

"So we’ll do what we do every year: We’ll try to develop some competition there and some depth there at that left tackle.”

Last year, the Chiefs didn't add Smith to the list of competitors until shortly after the draft, when they'd already invested a third-round pick in Morris, so that might be telling that the Chiefs will once again go with a mix of proven players and inexperienced potential. Morris played in 14 games and earned 4 starts down the stretch before suffering a head injury which forced him into the team's concussion protocol.

Moving forward, it's clear that no one has a read on the tea leaves, which is likely how Veach wants things. Mock drafts project the Chiefs taking a tackle in the first round or ignoring the position outright. The likely answer is found in the middle, especially for the long-term health up front for a position that's set to lose Smith to free agency and Lucas Niang in a contract year.

Then again, it's possible Smith re-ups for another season and a chance at a three-peat—that is, if the Chiefs want him. Other free agent tackles include Tyron Smith, Jonah Williams, Duane Brown, Yosh Nijman, and Cornelius Lucas.