What happened down the stretch of the 2024 season and playoffs stands strong in everyone’s memory. After all, Patrick Mahomes was hit and sacked more than ever. In a year where the club was trying to make history with a third straight Super Bowl victory, a veteran guard had to be moved to left tackle to protect the blind side and their right tackle was busy leading the NFL in penalties with a high pressure rate. After striking out with the pursuit of other tackles, the club overpaid for Moore, a fifth-year pro with 12 career starts. A fifth round pick in 2021 by San Francisco, he backed up future of Hall of Famer Trent Williams and has now taken off the training wheels. The two-year, $30 million deal with $21.2 Million guaranteed is not a contract a team keeps on the bench. That is starter money and there is no established veteran at the position to pose as a real threat.
Pre-free agency, nobody would have been surprised by putting Simmons to the Chiefs in a mock draft. The hole was obvious and the value matched up. But when they opted to use their #32 pick on the Ohio State product who was recovering from a patellar tendon injury, a lot of eyebrows were raised. There were other needs on the roster but Andy Reid did not want to pass on what many considered to be the tackle with the cleanest 2024 tape in the class. Taking him, after signing Moore, tells us they really liked this kid and it was someone that could not pass on. Simmons, who has experience at right tackle as well, could be viewed as a long term option for the right side but he was a participant in the team’s OTA’s and according to reports, he looked fantastic and ahead of schedule at left tackle.
Prediction: Moore
The Chiefs are simply too established of a team and the left tackle spot is too vital to the success of an offensive line for them to put all their eggs in a rookie basket from the start. Especially considering that rookie basket is a guy coming off a serious knee injury. Simmons is the long-term plan and he could even end up being the guy by year-end; nobody would be surprised by that. But the floor is higher with Moore being the week one starter and that is why they paid him what they did. If anyone should be concerned about their starting role the most, it is right tackle Jawaan Taylor.