Andy Reid Shares Plans for Josh Simmons This Offseason

Most in league circles believe the Chiefs got the steal of the first round in drafting left tackle Josh Simmons 32nd overall. If not for a midseason knee injury last year at Ohio State, Simmons was on pace to be a top-five pick.

Instead, he’ll begin his NFL career with Patrick Mahomes and the defending AFC champion Chiefs. And Andy Reid expects Simmons to be ready by the time the regular season begins. Kansas City got its first look at Simmons in a Chiefs practice jersey this past weekend at rookie minicamp.

"Josh is doing mostly the individual work,” Reid said Sunday. “We try to keep him out of the team if we're going against a defense, so just taking it slow here.

“We're just kind of getting a feel for where he's at with this. He had kind of a heavy-traffic travel schedule during the 30-visit thing so just make sure that thing's strong. He looks like he's got some talent there. That's a good thing, right? For what we can do, that's a plus.”

Plus is an understatement if Simmons can help the Chiefs remedy their Achilles’ heel, massive penetration from the tackle position. Mahomes was sacked 36 times during the regular season, a career high. In the 40-22 Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, Philadelphia dropped him six times – more than any game in the quarterback’s career – and they did it without a single blitz.