Wanya Morris Praised for Briefly Stepping Up in Week 16 Win Over Texans

After Jawaan Taylor left Saturday's Chiefs win with an injury, Wanya Morris stepped in and did an admirable job. Matt Nagy praised him for it this week.

Oct 27, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Wanya Morris (64) leaves the field after the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For one of the first times all season, the right tackle spot was in a more precarious position than left tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs. In the second half of Week 16's win over the Houston Texans, starter Jawaan Taylor went down with a knee injury and missed the rest of the contest.

That thrust second-year man Wanya Morris, who's been working on the left side all year, back into the lineup at a seemingly unnatural position. Contrary to what many expected, Morris wound up looking better in that abbreviated stint than he has in any game thus far.

Following Saturday's victory, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy tipped his cap to Morris for working to stay ready and rising up when Kansas City needed him to.

"He's done a good job with that," Nagy said. "It's important that these guys, as they go through the ebbs and flows of the season game-by-game, they stay locked in and they stay focused. I think most importantly, more than anything, they understand that we always are supporting them. We need to be coaching them and still be tough on them, but also have that 'one play away' mentality, and you saw that yesterday. Wanya has done that this whole time. He came in and played well. He just needs to keep growing, and he will. He's young, and I think we all just need to keep that perspective. I like where he's at right now. We've just got to continue to stay true to what he's doing well and continue to teach him what he's not doing great, and we can keep working at that."

Morris played 20 snaps on Saturday, his most since Week 13's win over the Las Vegas Raiders when he surrendered a season-high eight pressures and six hurries. This stint in relief of Taylor was much more productive, as Pro Football Focus credited him with zero pressures allowed and a 79.2 pass block grade that would be a new personal best in his two-year career. Despite being given very little notice and having to shift back to the right side, Morris handled it quite well judging by the box score, advanced stats and the eye test.

He looks far better at RT than LT. Night and day usage with his hands in pass pro https://t.co/JltIvmBsSb

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 22, 2024

Perhaps this is a new avenue for Morris, who has struggled alongside rookie second-rounder Kingsley Suamataia. As the sample size for him has grown at left tackle, the results have become less and less impressive. Getting back to his roots at right tackle, where he started eight collegiate games in 2022 for the Oklahoma Sooners and looked comfortable, may not hurt. It's oftentimes easier to make the switch from left to right than the inverse. While that doesn't answer any burning questions about the team's roster construction, it could make Morris that much more valuable in a pinch.

With Taylor listed as a limited participant in the Chiefs' first (estimated) practice injury report of the week, they might need it.

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