David Ferguson
I’d like you to meet David Ferguson, our newest writer here at ArrowheadOne. David Ferguson is an Iowa born, life-long Midwesterner who spent his childhood years in St. Paul, Minnesota cheering for the Vikings and suffering through their four Super Bowl losses. David graduated from high school in St. Charles, Missouri, then moved to Kansas City in 1990 after obtaining his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. David was immediately swept away by Chiefs fever and the renaissance of Kansas City football under Marty Schottenheimer, and he has been an ardent Kingdom fan ever since, becoming a season ticket holder in 1992. David is an avid student of the history of the NFL and the Chiefs. He resides in Liberty, Missouri with his wife and their cat LIVIE (a rescue cat saved in the months following the Chiefs’ defeat of the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV). David’s wife, Jennifer, and kids, Haley and Jackson, are also huge Chiefs fans. David is a self-admitted football addict and passes his time reading about the history of the NFL and rewatching Chiefs games between seasons. Please welcome DavidFerguson. – LaddieMorse
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Where does Veach go in the 2023 draft?
The debate rages among fans and pundits alike —> what will the Chiefs do in the 2023 draft? With the draft being in Kansas City, will Veach do the sexy thing and move up to grab an elite wide receiver, or will he go for an edge or offensive tackle? Will the Chiefs stand pat and take the best player available at 31, or perhaps trade back to grab more picks? Anything is possible, but one thing seems certain: if the ghosts of Super Bowl LV have anything to say about it, count on Veach going all-in to draft a left tackle in the first round.
Lessons from the debacle of the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay
The unbelievable high of the Chiefs defeating the Eagles to bring home another Lombardi has helped wipe away the terrible memories of Kansas City’s loss to Tampa in Super Bowl LV. Kansas City’s makeshift offensive line, destroyed by injuries to Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, was overwhelmed by Tampa’s pass rush. Visions of a beleaguered Patrick Mahomes running for his life are burned into the collective psyche of the Kansas City fanbase. Lacking any protection from his offensive line, even Mahomes and his stubborn unwillingness to quit were no match for the Buccaneers’ pass rush.
The Chiefs, who had throttled the Buccaneers earlier that season, went down in flames 31 – 9. Veach, like the rest of us, looked on in horror as the Tampa defense dismantled the Chiefs offensive line in SB LV. However, like Mahomes, there is no quit in the Chiefs or their general manager.
Veach crushes Kansas City’s offensive line problem in spectacular fashion
In the immediate wake of Super Bowl LV, Veach went to work to ensure his squad and his quarterback would never again endure the beating suffered at the hands of the Buccaneers. Veach landed free agent All-Pro Joe Thuney in March of 2021. Veach offered a massive free agent deal to Trent Williams, but was outbid for the services of San Francisco’s perennial All-Pro left tackle. Veach then turned his attention to mammoth tackle Orlando Brown, acquiring Brown in a trade involving the Chiefs sending a first-round pick that year to the Ravens. Veach followed that up by taking Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Veach’s reaction to Super Bowl LV was to bomb Kansas City’s offensive line problem into oblivion with aggressive moves involving use of significant draft capital and a massive free agent contract to secure arguably the best left guard in the league. Veach’s prioritization of the offensive line isn’t just talk — he turned the world upside-down after the loss to the Bucs to make sure his $500 million quarterback wouldn’t be running for his life again.
The results of Veach’s work? An incredible year from Mahomes and the offense in 2021 season, marred only by a terrible lapse in the second half of the AFC Championship game… and then a record-setting performance by Mahomes in 2022 en route to a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
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Aftermath of the 2022 season — Veach’s never-ending quest to keep Mahomes upright and safe
Contract demands by left tackle Orlando Brown (and likely some dissatisfaction with aspects of Brown’s game) led to his departure in Free Agency in early March of this year. Veach chose to let right tackle Andrew Wiley walk as well. Kansas City’s loss of its two starting tackles this offseason is clearly not as severe as the problem created by the in-season losses of Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz in 2020. However, these losses left the Chiefs offensive line room with two gaping holes. Veach signed Jacksonville free agent right tackle — Jawaan Taylor — on March 16 to bolster the Chiefs O-line, but serious questions remain.
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What is in the offensive line cupboard now?
The Chiefs currently have tackles Jawaan Taylor, Lucas Niang, Prince Tega-Wanogho, and Darian Kinnard on the roster.
Jawaan Taylor was drafted in the second round of the 2019 draft by the Jaguars and he immediately became Jacksonville’s starting right tackle. In his four NFL seasons, he’s taken 4,282 snaps at right tackle and only 18 at left tackle. In college, Taylor played at right tackle almost exclusively. In 2022, Taylor’s pass blocking was ranked 30 out of 78 tackles. Taylor has been durable, having never missed a game since he was drafted by the Jaguars. By most accounts, Taylor has been a solid, if not spectacular, right tackle in the NFL. ESPN lists Taylor as the Chiefs starting left tackle.
Lucas Niang was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2020 draft, but sat out the 2020 season. In 2021, he took 512 snaps for the Chiefs at right tackle. Niang took 7 regular season snaps for the Chiefs in 2022, all at right tackle. Niang suffered a torn patella tendon during week 17 of the 2021 season and did not return to action until November of 2022. Niang played right tackle in college and, notably, missed half of his senior season after undergoing hip surgery. ESPN lists Niang as the Chiefs’ starting right tackle.
Prince Tega-Wanogho was drafted by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 2020 draft out of Auburn. Tega-Wanogho started 32 games as Auburn’s left tackle. Philadelphia let Tega-Wanogho’s contract expire, and the Chiefs signed him to their practice squad in January of 2021. In 2022, Tega-Wanogho took 13 snaps for the Chiefs at left tackle and 45 at right tackle. In 2021, he took 76 snaps at left tackle and no snaps at right tackle. ESPN lists Tega-Wanogho as Taylor’s backup at left tackle.
Darian Kinnard was drafted by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2022 draft out of Kentucky, where Kinnard played in 46 games, including 39 consecutive starts. Kinnard earned consensus First-Team All-American status as a senior (along with numerous other awards in his senior and junior years). As a freshman, Kinnard played in nine games, starting two of the last three at left tackle. Kinnard, however, spent most of his college career at right tackle and has no significant experience on the left side. After being drafted by the Chiefs, Kinnard has yet to play a snap in the NFL. ESPN lists Kinnard as Lucas Niang’s backup at right tackle.
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Chiefs are perilously thin at left tackle
At present, the Kansas City roster has almost zero NFL experience at left tackle. Taylor — the projected starter — has almost none. His backup, Prince Tega-Wanogho, has significant collegiate experience at left tackle and some experience in the NFL on the left side, but thus far he has been more of a project in the NFL.
The player slotted to start at right tackle — Lucas Niang — has some experience in the NFL on the right side, but not a ton. He has almost no experience on the left side. More importantly, Niang has also missed substantial time both in college and the NFL due to serious injuries. Niang’s backup at right tackle, Darian Kinnard, does not have any NFL experience at either left or right tackle. Despite having an impressive college career, Kinnard is enough of a project that he did not take a single snap for the Chiefs during his rookie year.
Joe Thuney does have significant collegiate experience at left tackle, but that was more than seven years ago. Since being drafted by the Patriots in 2016, Thuney has taken 7,479 snaps at left guard and only 56 at left tackle. Adding to the Chiefs shortfall on the offensive line is the absence of anyone on the roster who qualifies as a traditional swing tackle.
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What could walking on thin ice look like? A Scenario
Fast forward to Super Bowl LVIII. It is February 2024, and the Chiefs are warming up in Allegiant Stadium for a rematch of Super Bowl LIV against the 49ers. The San Francisco pass rush is fiercer than ever. Jawaan Taylor is hurt, unable to play, as is Lucas Niang. Joe Thuney is able to play, but he is nicked up. The Chiefs will start Darian Kinnard at right tackle and Prince Tega-Wanogho at left.
Chiefs fans watch in horror, mopping their brows and praying for the best. What if the losses along the offensive line are just too much and Chiefs Kingdom is forced to revisit their worst fear — a replay of Super Bowl LV and the carnage inflicted on Patrick Mahomes playing behind a makeshift line? There is cause for hope, however — after all, Andy Reid is a master at scheming around injuries. Better than hope, though, is a plan, and Brett Veach seems more like a guy who will have a plan.
What will Veach do in the 2023 draft?
Anything can happen. Only Veach and the Chiefs know their strategy going into the draft. Many options are arguable, but it is beyond argument — based on Veach’s reaction to Super Bowl LV — that Veach places a huge premium on offensive line play. Against that backdrop… let’s consider how Veach might approach the 2023 draft.
The major needs of the Chiefs seem obvious: offensive tackle, wide receiver, and edge rusher (with other needs such as interior defensive line). Mahomes has demonstrated repeatedly the ability to do more with less at the receiver position. His stats when Tyreek Hill was out for a stretch in 2019 were pretty spectacular. Mahomes got it done this year in the AFC Championship Game with a decimated receiving corps. Plus, in their first year without Tyreek Hill, Mahomes and the Kansas City offense were insanely good, with Mahomes setting an NFL record for most offensive yards in a season.
The Chiefs are now faced with life without their leading wide receiver in 2022, JuJu Smith-Schuster, as well as the loss of significant contributors like Mecole Hardman and Justin Watson. Replacements for all the lost wide receiver production must come from somewhere. The Chiefs so far have only acquired Richie James to bolster the receiving corps, and adding talent at the wide receiver position remains a huge priority.
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At edge, the Chiefs drafted George Karlaftis last year, and he appears to be on the rise. Veach signed free-agent Charles Omenihu this offseason to bolster the pass rush. Still, with the loss of Frank Clark, Carlos Dunlap, and Khalen Saunders the Chiefs clearly need more help on the defensive line. Veach seems to have a knack for finding vets like Melvin Ingram and Carlos Dunlap to shore up Kansas City’s pass-rush. Even so, Kansas City could clearly benefit from the acquisition of edge help in the draft.
There are fair arguments to be made that the Chiefs will prioritize drafting a wide receiver or edge rusher, and many mock drafts have the Chiefs moving up in the first round to take one of those positions. Overall, those positions seem less difficult to address than Kansas City’s shortage of offensive tackles with experience on the left side. The Chiefs lack of depth and resiliency to potential injury on the offensive line, especially at left tackle, looks like Kansas City’s Achilles’ heel for the time being.
The Chiefs can survive without adding an elite edge in the first round. Between Jones, Omenihu, and Karlaftis, the Chiefs ought to be able to generate a respectable pass rush. As to the need for a wide receiver, Mahomes appears capable of leading yet another stellar offensive campaign even if Veach does not acquire a top free agent receiver or draft a receiver in the first round. Some may say the same is true of the offensive line. After all, Mahomes has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to make his offensive line look good, with his pocket awareness and timely scrambles. However, as Super Bowl LV showed, even Mahomes has his limits.
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The Chiefs draft strategy
As Veach sizes up his draft strategy, perhaps the most important question facing him is:
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What is the biggest threat to the Chiefs chances
of winning the Lombardi this coming season?
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A lack of protection for Mahomes seems like the most obvious answer. The correct draft strategy remains subject to vigorous debate, and reasonable minds may differ. One thing seems certain, however: the ghosts of Super Bowl LV are begging Veach to draft an experienced left tackle.
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David Ferguson — ArrowheadOne
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