The Kansas City Chiefs completed a great draft last week, but there’s one player I’m particularly excited about because of what it means for Patrick Mahomes. With their first pick in the NFL Draft, the Chiefs selected left tackle Josh Simmons out of Ohio State. We remember how pathetic the Chiefs looked the last time we saw them. Brett Veach and Co. knew they had to do something about the offensive and defensive lines. What the Chiefs have in Josh Simmons is a franchise left tackle, something Mahomes has sorely needed in his career. Simmons was highly regarded this year, and it was great value for the Chiefs to get him at pick 32.
Most draft analysts regarded Simmons as a top-three tackle in this draft class. According to sources I trust and follow closely, they viewed him as the best tackle prospect in the entire draft class, but a torn patellar tendon in mid-October ended his season prematurely and tanked his draft stock. Despite the injury, Andy Reid and his staff felt comfortable taking Simmons where they did. Kansas City got their first look at Simmons and the rest of their rookies this past weekend at rookie minicamp.
“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-[team] 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.”
Reid revealed that the team believes he can be ready to play when the regular season rolls around.
“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.
Simmons brings nimble feet for a man his size. At 6″5 310 lbs, he’s got the size to hold the edge and protect Mahomes’ blind side until he decides to retire. Simmons is an athletic and fluid mover who can also move bodies in the run game. He excels at climbing to the different levels of the defense and eliminating defenders, creating massive holes for his running backs. He will make his money in the passing game, where he showed flashes of dominance in the Big Ten.
If not for the injury, Simmons would have been long gone when the Chiefs were ready to pick. I want to thank the rest of the NFL for letting us have him, as he is precisely what the doctor ordered for this team. The Chiefs have attempted to get by with below-average and bargain-bin left tackle play. That just won’t cut it in today’s NFL. Protecting your quarterback is the most crucial ingredient to a Super Bowl team. We should know. The two losses Patrick Mahomes has suffered have largely been due to the ineffectiveness of the offensive line.
The Chiefs feel confident in Simmons’ recovery from his knee injury. Thirty-one teams decided his medicals were too much to consider in the first round, but the Chiefs felt comfortable taking him. The Chiefs are in the unique situation where they don’t need him to play immediately. They signed Jaylon Moore, a left tackle from the 49ers who backed up future Hall of Famer Trent Williams, to be a possible answer for this upcoming season. The 27-year-old Moore showed he could play when Williams went down with an injury in the middle of the 2024 season. Moore filled in nicely, and the 49ers didn’t skip a beat. That was enough for the Chiefs to sign him to a two-year, $30 million contract this offseason. But the prospect of having a blue-chip talent like Simmons was too tempting to pass up. Moore is an expensive insurance policy in case Simmons isn’t ready to go this season. At the time, they didn’t know someone like Simmons would fall to them, but now they potentially have two good left tackles instead of zero. I’ll take those numbers every day of the week.
Simmons had a message for Chiefs fans on what to expect from him.
“Attack rehab as hard as I can — that way, when training camp does come around, I can be the most help that I can possibly be,” Simmons said, via Arrowhead Pride. “There’s nothing I can really do to force myself [into the lineup]. There’s a lot of vets in here. My thing is just stay out the way and work hard. Be a helpful piece if I can.”
The Chiefs know he can be a helpful piece; it’s just a matter of when he can be helpful. The Chiefs have the luxury of being patient with the young man as he works back into football shape. Andy Reid has been somewhat hamstrung the last few seasons with below-average tackle play. The two tackles are the most critical positions for an offense to have sustained success. Tackles allow big plays to develop down the field, an area the Chiefs have sorely missed since the Tyreek Hill days. The idea is that Moore, and eventually Simmons, can help give the Mahomes that extra second he needs. Simmons takes that responsibility seriously; he called himself the “QB Protector” in a conference call after he was drafted. He seems to have the right attitude and is excited about the opportunity to play for one of the best offenses in the league. I imagine playing with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid also gets you pumped up.
It’s great,” Simmons said. “Everything you could ask for [as a] football player. The playbook is not as complex as I thought it’d be, but it’s different playbook than Chip Kelly, so [I’ve] got to do a bit of studying.”
Bank On It! 
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