Chiefs Facing Odd Paradox Along Offensive Line

The Kansas City Chiefs' biggest question entering the offseason was, without a doubt, their offensive line.

The unit the Chiefs have poured so many resources into over the years came apart in Super Bowl LIX vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, leading to the Chiefs going back to a sense of soul searching.

"I think, like every offseason, I don't want to speak for all the teams but I think every offseason it's offensive line and defensive line. I mean, you got to get a quarterback, right, and so we have one, and we're blessed to have one," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said at the NFL Scouting Combine last month.

"But I think if you look at how we've handled the offseasons, whether it was a Joe Thuney or trading for a
(Orlando) Brown or a (Jawaan) Taylor or Frank Clark or Chris Jones, it's Mike Danna last year. We're always investing in the offensive and defensive lines. It's just some years you have more numbers to work with than others. That would probably be a similar challenge this year, and it's just coming up with some different, unique plans. But I think our priority is always on the fronts first, and this will be no different."

Something eerily similar happened four years earlier when the Chiefs last to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, with franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes running for his life and not finding any easy answers in either affair.

The Chiefs have had some movement along the offensive line this offseason, but nothing they have done so far changes the fact the Chiefs are facing an odd paradox along the offensive line.

The price point of the Chiefs' offensive line changed dramatically when they traded big-money All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears before free agency, but the Chiefs still have a lot tied into the unit in Jawaan Taylor, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith.

This was amplified in the early stages of free agency when the Chiefs made a gamble on San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Jaylon Moore with a two-year, $30 million deal. Not an earth shattering deal, no, but sizable considering Moore's experience.

In short, the Chiefs are paying serious cash at four of their five offensive line positions and yet still have major questions about the group after the first wave of free agency. That isn't a great place to be.