Chiefs Week 1 Foes Are Photo Negatives Entering Training Camp

Just over two months before they kick off the season in Brazil, the Chargers and Chiefs are photo negatives of each other.

On offense, Kansas City’s interior offensive line is among its biggest strengths. The Chiefs’ most glaring weakness is their offensive tackles. In contrast, a key Chargers strength is their offensive tackles, while their glaring weakness is uncertainty at center and guard.

“One of the Chargers’ biggest weaknesses last season was the interior of their offensive line, particularly in pass protection,” beat writer Daniel Popper wrote Monday, addressing the lingering question lurking over the team entering training camp.

The roster is loaded with first-round draft picks, including new free agent Mekhi Becton, set in stone as the right guard in Jim Harbaugh’s starting lineup. Two other former first-rounders, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, will start at right and left tackle, respectively.

Wide receivers Quentin Johnston and Mike Williams, rookie running back Omarion Hampton and, of course, starting quarterback Justin Herbert, give the Chargers an impressive list of first-round talent. And their best player might be Ladd McConkey, a second-round wide receiver.

But center and left guard are big question marks, and Chris Jones, Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs know it.

“They took a step toward improving that area in free agency when they signed Mekhi Becton,” Popper added. “At left guard and center, the Chargers could be starting two holdovers in Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson. Bozeman started at center in 2024. Johnson started at left guard.

“The Chargers, through spring practices, have been experimenting with Johnson at center and Bozeman at left guard. Johnson has never played center in the NFL. Will swapping those two actually lead to improvement?”

They’ll find out right away when they line up against the Chiefs in the Sept. 5 contest at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo. While Slater and Alt are outstanding, Becton hasn’t fully proven his NFL ceiling, even though he transitioned to guard in 2024 and helped the Eagles beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

And if Johnson indeed makes his first NFL start at center, he’ll be tested from the first snap thanks to Jones and Spagnuolo. In passing situations, rookie defensive tackle Omar Norman-Lott could get his first professional snaps against a largely untested interior.

Kansas City won’t have any sympathy for its AFC West rival, though. A year ago, in the first NFL game, the Chiefs themselves were exposed when Kingsley Suamataia made his debut as the starting left tackle. The rookie lasted just two games before Andy Reid benched him for allowing too much pressure on Patrick Mahomes. Kansas City’s well-documented issues at tackle hounded the team through its Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia.

However, on the interior, the Chiefs were virtually impenetrable last season with center Creed Humphrey and guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith. Unwilling to commit long-term to the aging Thuney, they traded him to Chicago in March. Now, Suamataia is expected to compete for Thuney’s vacant left-guard role with Mike Caliendo.

Humphrey and Smith are pillars of the Chiefs’ offense, Pro Bowlers in their prime. Kansas City’s obvious question is tackle, not its interior.

The Chiefs did get good news at the end of minicamp, though. Rookie first-round selection Josh Simmons is fully cleared for training camp after surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. Free agent Jaylon Moore is in competition with Simmons. Moore also could unseat right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who also struggled in pass protection last season.

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