Despite the Kansas City Chiefs signing former San Francisco 49ers left tackle Jaylon Moore on the first day of free agency to a 2-year, $30 million deal, many fans in the Kingdom still want to see Kansas City spend a high pick on the position in case Moore doesn't work out.
However, Kansas City shouldn't be throwing yet another draft pick at the wall and hoping something eventually sticks. It's not a good roster-building strategy, especially when they've already invested quite a bit into the position and instead need to develop what they already have, rather than continuing the revolving door of inexperienced options attempting to block for Patrick Mahomes.
Let's start with the obvious reason why Kansas City should hold off on selecting a left tackle: it already seems like fans have forgotten that the team signed Jaylon Moore. While Moore may be a bit of a mystery box, he has NFL experience, and you at least have a good idea of what he looks like at the NFL level. That already gives him an edge over any draft pick. Furthermore, he's already making $15 million a year in his deal with Kansas City. Yes, it's a short-term deal in case he doesn't work out, but you aren't paying a guy that much money to not play. Moore is going to get his chance.
The Chiefs' best approach would be to consider the left tackle role filled for now and focus on other needs.
Not only would spending another high draft pick on left tackle be a misuse of resources in this scenario, but this simply isn't the draft class to reach for a left tackle. Kansas City would have to get out of its comfort zone in this draft to take a chance on any of the tackles realistically available to them, given they all have short arms relative to what Kansas City typically looks for. Not only that, but a lot of the names commonly mocked to Kansas City—such as Josh Conerly of Oregon and Josh Simmons of Ohio State—have major question marks.
Conerly is undersized for what Kansas City likes and got bullied at the Senior Bowl. He's going to take the same, if not more, patience than Kingsley Suamataia when the Chiefs drafted him. While Josh Simmons is an intriguing prospect as well, he's coming off a torn patellar tendon injury, which is devastating to big men, and he would be another project that Kansas City may not want to take on.
This is more about what the draft class has to offer than what Kansas City truly needs. In an ideal world, grabbing your left tackle of the future would be great. That's likely not going to come this year, though, which is why Kansas City got the high-upside option in Moore, who has experience starting in the NFL. It's a two-year contract, which gives the Chiefs time to find more of a long-term solution for the position. That may even be Jaylon Moore.
That said, Kansas City would be better off unleashing Moore and continuing to develop what they already have in the room. If they want an insurance option to ensure the floor is solid, they could re-sign D.J. Humphries, who has already said he wants to compete for the job in 2025 with a fully healthy offseason. Kansas City also probably owes him that opportunity after trying to rush him back from injury to save the season. Clearly, they saw something they liked in him, though.
Given that Kansas City probably isn't going to find their future left tackle in this draft, their best plan would be to try to make the team as good as possible everywhere else and consider the hole at left tackle filled for now. Kansas City has a lot of other needs—including defensive line, running back, and wide receiver—that desperately need a youth and talent injection. If the Chiefs run into a situation later in the draft where a talented left tackle is far and away the best player on their board, then go for it, but they shouldn't force themselves to reach for a left tackle at 31st overall.