Once more, the Kansas City Chiefs have won the Super Bowl. They are unquestionably the NFL’s team to beat, having won three titles in the previous five years in addition to back-to-back titles. That does, however, also imply that they will be a target for years to come. After winning their third Super Bowl, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did not win another one for almost ten years. The Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes better hope they don’t have to wait too long.
The Chiefs must strive to improve their roster in order to maintain their position atop the NFL, while the other 31 clubs are virtually definitely making similar efforts.
Their offensive line, especially at tackle, is one area where they can still do better.
Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor were merely mediocre tackles, but interior offensive linemen like Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, and Nick Allegretti were among the team’s top five blockers. Among the starting lineman for the Chiefs, Smith received the lowest PFF blocking grades.
Kansas City should replace Smith with a soon-to-be-former Green Bay Packers left tackle in order to better and protect Mahomes.
In 2023, the Chiefs inked Donovan Smith to a $3 million one-year contract to guard Mahomes’ blind side. He performed well enough to finish the job, as seen by the Super Bowl triumph. Nevertheless, Smith will be over 30 in 2024 and took on 53 pressures in total in 2023—the third most and third-worst of his career. That was the most pressure he had let himself since his second NFL season.
The Chiefs could be better off letting Smith depart in free agency this year due to his diminishing play. Having a cap space of $23 million available in 2024.
To avoid squandering the majority of their space on one player at one position, Kansas City would probably search for another steal on the free agency market.
Yosh Nijman, a swing tackle for the Green Bay Packers, is one soon-to-be free agent who would fit in nicely. Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker, two youthful previous 2022 draft selections, appear to be Green Bay’s tackle prospects of the future. Nijman did not receive as much playing time as he had in previous seasons because of their emergence in 2023.
It’s not that Nijman was a nasty person, though. The Packers made a commitment to a youth movement in 2023, which meant that rookies and young players in their second year were given more playing time than veterans in a number of positions. Owing to his lack of playing time in 2023, Nijman might be a cheap and excellent free agent signing.
Nijman switched to right tackle in 2022 after Bakhtiari made an 11-game comeback. That season, he saw 200 snaps at left tackle and 555 at right tackle. He gave up five sacks, 28 pressures, and a 74.4 PFF pass blocking grade.
As previously indicated, the Packers’ desire to deploy their younger players resulted in Nijman losing playing time in 2023. Given their current level of success and Nijman’s unrestricted free agency status, it is quite probable that he will play elsewhere in 2024.
With his background and skill at both tackle positions, Kansas City need to give him a call.
