After their piecemeal offensive line was demolished in Super Bowl LV at the pleasure of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Kansas City Chiefs did something unusual in the 2021 offseason: They put five new starters on that line, and for the most part, it worked. The biggest move was replacing left tackle Eric Fisher with Orlando Brown Jr., acquired in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs traded their 2021 first-round pick (No. 31 overall), their 2021 third-round pick (No. 94), their 2021 fourth-round pick (No. 136), and a 2022 fifth-round pick to the Ravens in exchange for Brown, Baltimore’s 2021 second-round pick (No. 58 overall), and a 2022 sixth-round pick..
Brown switched from the right to the left side in Week 8 of the 2020 season after starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley was lost for the remainder of the season due to a broken ankle. Brown was known more as a right-side mauler, but he more than held his own on Lamar Jackson’s blind side, allowing no sacks, one quarterback hit, and 16 quarterback pressures on the left side from Week 8 through the Ravens’ divisional-round loss to the Bills, per Pro Football Focus.
In his first season with the Chiefs, things were less definite. Brown allowed six sacks, 13 quarterback hits, and 26 quarterback hurries on 916 pass-blocking reps defending Patrick Mahomes’ blind side. Not horrible numbers, but not what you want when you’re making it clear that you want to be one of the NFL’s highest-paid players at your position.
