ESPN has continued to unveil its annual top-10 lists from reporter and analyst Jeremy Fowler.
The latest poll of NFL executives, coaches and players identifies the Kansas City Chiefs interior offensive line group as perhaps the best in the league. They were the only team to have two players make the top-10 list. They also had a third player appear in the honorable mentions.
Here’s a quick look at where Chiefs players rank on the list, along with the information that anonymous execs, coaches and players told Fowler:
2. LG Joe Thuney
“The Chiefs are loaded with offensive linemen, but Thuney is the most valuable because he rarely makes a mistake, savvy, doesn’t commit penalties, holds up in the run or the pass. Not an overwhelming athlete but just really good.” – Anonymous AFC scouting executive.
Even during a season where Thuney dealt with injury and saw his iron-man streak come to an end, he was unbelievably solid. He won’t get all the accolades and awards, but the three-time Super Bowl champion led all linemen in ESPN’s pass block win rate statistic (98.9) in 2022.
8. C Creed Humphrey
“He’s really not beholden to any system — you could put him in any offense, and he would thrive. It was good to see that [in 2022] he had to handle more, saw less three-man fronts with Tyreek Hill gone, and he handled it great.” – Anonymous pro bowler on offense.
Humphrey is one of the most dominant players in the league at his position. He appeared in 20 total games in 2023, including the playoffs. He didn’t allow a single sack and only had 19 pressures on the year. He’s the anchor up front in the passing game for Kansas City without question.
Honorable mention: RG Trey Smith
“Powerful. He’s a top-10 player at his position. Only knock on him is what’s a knock for a lot of powerful guys: He tries to make the big splash hit, and that gets him off balance.” – Anonymous veteran pro bowler
Smith has a case to make the list based on his pancake blocks alone, but he also was surprisingly sound in pass protection last season. He allowed 32 total pressures and just two sacks all year long, despite playing through injury.
It’s the plays like the one below that simply don’t get enough credit:
Two quarters
Two @JetMckinnon1 TDs📺: #KCvsDEN on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/TzmdzbFm9o pic.twitter.com/AdFvjY41vw— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2022
