KC Chiefs Not Worried About Offensive Line Play in Season’s Final Weeks

It's been a rocky season for the Kansas City offensive line, but Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes know efforts are being made to improve.

Coming into the 2023 season, there was ample reason for optimism regarding the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive line.

Along the interior, the same trio of left guard Joe Thuney, center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith remained. Both starting tackles left via free agency but considering their level of play, those losses didn't appear to be too significant. With Jawaan Taylor signed to a big-money deal to shore up the right side and Donovan Smith brought in on a bargain contract for the left, this version of the line was pitched at one point as perhaps the best of quarterback Patrick Mahomes's career.

Through 15 games, it's been anything but that. Week 16's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders was proof. 

In the run game, the Chiefs totaled just 85 yards on 25 attempts. That's a 3.4-yard average per carry, with Mahomes himself averaging 5.3. On true rushing attempts by halfbacks, Isiah Pacheco (11 carries for 26 yards) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (four carries for six yards) didn't find much success at all. In the passing game, per Pro Football Focus, Mahomes was pressured a whopping 21 times. Fifteen of those stemmed from the tackle position — 10 of them went to rookie Wanya Morris as he continued to fill in due to Smith's injury. 

Speaking to the media this week, head coach Andy Reid acknowledged that he's talked to the offensive line but opted to keep his message private. He did allude to there being a sense of urgency to improve. 

“Look, I talk to everybody, so that’s between me and the players," Reid said. "That’s all part of this thing. I mean, it’s the same way with (Travis) Kelce. Kelce and I have a great relationship, so I mean I go to him, I go to the offensive line, I talk to these guys and I think that’s important. These guys are emotional. They want to do well. That’s what you see. There’s a sense of frustration, ‘What can I do better?’ That urgency is going to help us get better.”

The advanced tracking data for the Kansas City offensive line is mixed. For example, ESPN's pass block win rate pegs the Chiefs as the top-ranked line in all of football. PFF's pure pass block ranking (eighth) appears closer to the perceived truth. In the run game, though, things are mostly accurate. The Chiefs are 24th in run block win rate and 17th in run blocking grade.

In the PFF database, Smith and Taylor are in the top 10 among all starting tackles in terms of pressures surrendered (both have 42 allowed). At the guard spot, Trey Smith is tied for seventh with 33 pressures. Mahomes's ability to avoid sacks is up there with the best of any quarterback, but he too has admitted that he needs to be better. He called out his front five on the sideline during Week 16's game but as he expects them to respond, he knows he has to do the same. 

“Yeah, that’s what I was talking about," Mahomes said. "There were times when the pocket was clean, and I was drifting back and that invites the rush to be even better. I honestly thought that the offensive line stepped up to the challenge as the game went on. Obviously, the first few drives you saw me talking to them, I just challenged those guys to be better and they were. Then it’s on me — if I’m going to challenge them to be better, I have to be better within the pocket. I was proud of how those guys responded throughout the middle parts of that game and toward the end of it. I have to trust those guys as much as I talk. That’s on me to be better and better as games go on and don’t drift and try to do too much.”

A combination of things has contributed to the collective step back for the Chiefs' offensive line. Injuries to both Smiths, minor regression for players like Thuney and Humphrey, ongoing penalty questions with Taylor and the inexperience of Morris leave plenty of room to improve. Picking up stunts or catering the run-blocking scheme to different players has also proven to be difficult at times. Because of the wide receiver room's struggles, this specific part of the team hasn't gotten a ton of outside attention. Kansas City is well aware that it needs to be cleaned up. The question is whether there's enough time left for it to take place. 

Patrick Mahomes Gives Take On Frustration With Chiefs’ Offense