The offensive line has been a project that’s seen tremendous growth over the past two seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. General Manager Brett Veach made it a mission to surround Patrick Mahomes with quality protection and keep him healthy to ensure long-term success.
The Chiefs parted ways with both Andrew Wylie and Orlando Brown Jr. at the beginning of the offseason, opening a path for more playing time to some of their young linemen. With the addition of Jawaan Taylor in free agency, the biggest question mark remains the right tackle position. A player that has potential is third-year OT Lucas Niang. He hasn’t seen a lot of time on the field, in part due to opting out in 2020 and in part due to injury, but Veach continues to believe that he can be a contributor.
“We have a lot of hopes for Lucas (Niang),” said Veach. “And you know, he was the guy that actually won that starting right tackle position, then he got hurt. It’s been a little bit of an uphill battle. Um, he had a pretty bad injury there. But he has worked phenomenally to get in shape. And Rick (Burkholder) and his staff have done a great job of continuing to get him in the right positions to go out there and be productive.”
While Niang appears to be set for a more significant role, Veach also highlighted Prince Tega Wanogho and Darian Kinnard as players ready to take the next step in their development.
“Prince (Tega Wanogho) is a guy that has always kind of steadily grown every year has been here, and I think (Darian) Kinnard, you know, I’m excited for him,” said Veach. “And I think he’ll have a chance to play, play some tackle. We certainly think he has flex, and he may end up being ultimately a better guard. He’s played right tackle in the past, and he was the guy that, you know, struggled a little early on, but I think toward the end of training camp there, and throughout the season, you guys probably don’t get to see as much during the season, but he’s, I think grown rapidly over the last few months. I know Coach (Andy) Heck is really excited for where he is, so again, I think he’s a guy that has flexibility, so he’ll probably get reps at both guard and tackle there.
“But between those three guys and we have three solid guys that can go in there and compete and you know, I’m sure we’ll look to continue to add depth all across that offensive line.”
The Chiefs could add more offensive line help in the draft, but Veach is still looking for opportunities to get young talent who are already enriched in the culture more involved. The returning players with something to prove could lessen the urgency and need to pick an offensive tackle early in the 2023 NFL draft.
