Whenever a team is fortunate enough to find their franchise quarterback, they have to make sure the offensive line is able to protect him. While the Kansas City Chiefs‘ offensive line was decent in 2019, it could still use some help.
The Super Bowl in particular showed that the Chiefs offensive line – while improving – wasn’t as good as it needed to be. Patrick Mahomes was pummeled throughout that game and teams are going to continue to try to add defensive talent up front to attempt to slow him down.
Realistically, the starting o-line will be Eric Fisher at left tackle, either Andrew Wylie or Lucas Niang at left guard, Austin Reiter at center, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif at right guard, and Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle. Left guard and possibly center are probably the only true competitions to be had along the line.
While Wylie and Niang are likely the two in the running for the left guard job, there are some dark horse candidates who could find their way in that role. We discussed what Missouri tackle Yasir Durant could provide and he has a chance to make the roster, but what about Jovahn Fair of Temple?
Fair’s role as a rookie probably isn’t anything more than a depth piece and even then, he’s probably destined for the practice squad. As we’ve all witnessed over the years, however, offensive line is a taxing position and injuries occur frequently. Not everyone can be as durable as Schwartz.
Last season, injuries occurred to Fisher, Wylie, LDT, and Martinas Rankin and those injuries paved the way for other players to see offensive snaps. That’s more than likely how Fair finds his way onto the football field is if another player gets injured.
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