Chiefs: A New Look Offensive Line

The Kansas City Chiefs will have a new look along the offensive line this year. Yes, LT Eric Fisher and RT Mitchell Schwartz are still the bookends, and Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is in the house but, aside from those three, that’s about all we know for sure about how this group will come together.

The Chiefs one time starter, and backup to the stars — Zach Fulton — is now in Houston and getting paid handsomely I might add. Center Mitch Morse isn’t the Center… for now… because he’s still recovering from a foot injury. Left Guard is still as wide open as it’s ever been… at least since the days of:

• LT Willie Roaf  – LG Will Shields – C Casey Wiegmann – RG Brian Waters – RT John Tait

Ah, those were the days… the days of 2003… and that was 15 years ago… so I guess it’s time to stop living in the past. We’ll it’s hard not to compare an OL to such greatness. That may have been the best OL in the history of the NFL. The point that should be made about this version of the Chiefs OL is that it could be the best line the Chiefs have had since 2003. Sure, they still need to flesh out who will play those two important starting roles at Center and Left tackle but the line appears to be as deep as it’e been in recent memory with Cam Erving, Parker Ehinger, Bryan Witzmann, rookie Kahlil McKenzie, Canadian transport Ryan Hunter, Jordan Devey, Andrew Wylie, Jimmy Murray, Dillon Gordon, Kaleb Johnson and Tejan Koroma… to choose from. 

Ryan Hunter, the Canadian football implant who went to Bowling Green is getting a lot of buzz right now. Although there’s not a lot that’s being said about his OTAs and mini-camp performances, for some reason he’s been getting some favorable press recently. So, I dug up some tape of his performance at Bowling Green to see what all the fuss was about and I’m not sure I have much to say which is very supportive to report.

Ryan Hunter could develop into a good offensive lineman. Although, it’s sometimes hard to see it when I watch his tape. Sometimes he anchors well and other times he doesn’t. Sometimes he drive-blocks and moves his feet downfield to make a specific block… and other times he seems lost in space looking for someone, anyone, to block, but doesn’t.

Hunter was recently the 9th player taken in the 2018 Canadian Football League (CFL) Draft. However, Hunter has stated emphatically that he  wants to play in the NFL.

Whether Ryan Hunter makes the team or not may depend upon his ability to learn. It’s hard not to compare him to another Canadian alien being — LDT — because he needed lots of help as a rookie before he ever took over at Right Guard in his second year… and now he’s one of he best Right Guards in the league. It does appear that LDT has more of a physical base — lower body mass — than Hunter, so we’ll see.

Competition Along the OL

• With Parker Ehinger coming off of his second season, a season spent on the bench because of an injury and rehab during his rookie campaign, he would appear to be a front runner in the LG sweepstakes. Ehinger started 4 games at LG in 2016 and 1 game in 2017. The other front runner is…
• Bryan Witzmann is the incumbent starting LG who started 13 games at this position in 2017. So far, it looks to be a two-man battle. So, that means the Center position will be played by…
• Cam Erving should be the starting Center on opening day assuming Mitch Morse isn’t ready to go (although Matt Derrick is reporting that Morse is scheduled to return to action in training camp). Erving is getting all the snaps in OTAs and Mini-camp and Morse is sharing all he knows, to keep Erving up to snuff. There’s a special place in heaven for guys like Morse but he should have a special place on this team too… as a starter, just as soon as he’s ready to go.
• Mitch Morse is on the sideline after suffering a foot injury last year in week 13. He did not have foot surgery but his recovery has taken longer than expected and as with all of his players coming back off of injuries, HC Andy Reid is playing it close to the vest and waiting longer than many might want to wait to make sure Morse is able to come back strong… and stay on the field when he gets there.

The Chiefs still need to answer questions about who will be their interior backup and their swing tackle. Once Morse returns, Cam Erving will likely play the interior backup role. Until then, the loser of the LG battle — Parker Ehinger or Bryan Witzmann — will likely hold the “IL Backup” moniker. Some think that Cam Erving can also serve as the swing tackle and backup either Fisher or Schwartz if they go down but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Part of Erving’s problems in Cleveland existed because they used him all over the O-line and never gave him one specific location to focus his skills on. Consequently, he never developed to their liking, making him expendable.

Eric Fisher — Bryan Witzmann — Mitch Morse — Laurent Duvernay-Tardif — Mitchell Schwartz

With these five penciled in as the starters (somewhere down the line) and Cam Erving and Parker Ehinger listed as the backups, it still leaves room for a good swing tackle. I can see Erving stepping in for one game here or there at Tackle, but the Chiefs would be in big trouble if either one of their tackles goes down considering the replacements they have — or don’t have — depending on how you look at it.

For now, I see rookie Kahlil McKenzie making the roster based upon the draft investment and potential. If Ryan Hunter makes the team it’s probably first as a backup interior lineman. Jordan Devey falls more under the OG category so that leaves who… or whom… to play that important backup role at tackle?

Andrew Wylie, Jimmy Murray, Dillon Gordon, Kaleb Johnson and Tejan Koroma are all developmental offensive lineman. So this will be an important position to watch for when training camp breaks.

You might think that maintaining 3 of the five positions along the offensive line means there isn’t going to be much change but with the Left Guard, Center, backup interior lineman, and backup Tackle positions yet to be determined, the Chiefs line from front to back could look very different in 2018. From now until the Chiefs go to training camp in St. Joe in late July is the real offseason for the Chiefs players. Remember, it was during this break a year ago that the Chiefs made a big change at the top of the organization: General Manager. We also know that new GM Brett veach got busy right away in his new role by calling Dallas and asking if Anthony Hitchens was available. So, there could be a number of additions or changes to the roster by the time everyone heads to St. Joe next month. Go Chiefs!

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