The first wave of 2024 NFL free agency has come and gone, with few impact players remaining. As we turn our focus back to the 2024 NFL draft in April, there are few glaring holes on the Kansas City Chiefs’ 90-man offseason roster. However, one position group stands out above the rest when it comes to current and future needs.

The offensive line is the engine of an NFL offense — without a good one, you’re not going very far no matter who you have under center. The Chiefs remade their offensive line after their collapse in Super Bowl LV, and they’ve since had quite a bit of success, but it’s coming time to reinvest in that position group to keep the success rolling. Leading up to the 2024 NFL draft, this position group needs perhaps the most attention from Brett Veach.

Looking at the offensive line depth chart

The Chiefs have just eight offensive linemen on the 90-man offseason roster.

Position
Starters

LT
Wanya Morris
Jason ‘Chu’ Godrick

LG
Joe Thuney

C
Creed Humphrey

RG
Trey Smith

RT
Jawaan Taylor
Lucas Niang

You can get by with the starting unit, as we learned in the four games that Morris started last year. They don’t have enough bodies for a second-string offensive line, let alone a third-string unit. It’s entirely possible that of the 18 remaining roster spots the Chiefs have to fill, at least a third of them will be offensive linemen.

Why the Chiefs need to start thinking about their interior offensive line

The Chiefs are going to have some decisions to make after the 2024 NFL season when it comes to their interior offensive line. Both Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith are set to become free agents. Typically, you’d have the franchise tag at your disposal to help you with one of these decisions, but the offensive line franchise tag pays practically $21M. That’s left tackle money, so they won’t be using that.

Humphrey has a case to make that he should be the highest-paid center in the NFL. Lions C Frank Ragnow and Titans C Lloyd Cushenberry currently hold most of the benchmarks that Humphrey will likely look to break. They don’t have half the accolades that Humphrey has. Can the Chiefs really afford to pay Humphrey market-setting money in 2024? It’s something they’ll have to figure out.

Many Chiefs fans have already accepted the fact that the team is unlikely to be able to pay Smith. The guard market this offseason only hurts their chances of accomplishing that next year.

Then, there’s Joe Thuney and his future. He’s under contract for 2025, but the Chiefs can save $16 million in cap space with $10 million in dead money if they were to release him. Coming off an injury in 2023, this may end up being a decision they have to make in what will be his age-33 season.

Suddenly, a year from now, the interior offensive line in Kansas City could look a whole lot different. Preparing for any potential changes in 2024 could put you in a much better position in 2025.

There’s also simply the value of having a good backup player on the interior. In both the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LVIII, the Chiefs needed to rely on their backup interior offensive lineman Nick Allegretti, who is now a member of the Washington Commanders. Allegretti had appeared in 74 regular season games with 13 starts, which is why he was trusted in those moments.

Right now, the only backup interior offensive lineman is a third-year undrafted free agent, who has appeared in eight NFL games over the past two seasons. In Mike Caliendo’s 64 offensive snaps this season, he allowed a sack and three other pressures. He could certainly wind up being a valuable depth piece for Kansas City after being in the system for the past two years, but he’s wholly unproven.

It’d make sense to take a swing on a veteran along the interior in free agency to pair with Caliendo, but the Chiefs seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern with their free agency spending right now. That might not be an option until after the draft, at which point there might not be a lot of good players available.

The Chiefs’ offensive tackle group could also use help

The offensive tackle group is in a much better spot than the interior offensive line. You’ve got a capable starting duo in Wanya Morris and Jawaan Taylor. As far as depth is concerned, Lucas Niang has starting experience in Kansas City on the right side. There is also a high-upside international player in Jason Godrick, who the Chiefs like very much, but this is only his second-ever season of playing organized football in any capacity. If he takes a major jump forward, that’s great, but you can’t bank on it.

There’s the possibility of simply bringing back players like Donovan Smith and Prince Tega Wanogho. That helps raise the floor of the offensive tackle spot in the interim, but it doesn’t much help you when it comes to future depth or even improving upon the protection you currently have on the left side of the offensive line.

The bottom line

The only thing to ever thwart Patrick Mahomes in a Super Bowl was a shaky offensive line. The Chiefs are probably comfortable rolling out their current group of starters, but there is no way they’re comfortable with the current depth at either tackle or interior offensive line positions.

They basically have none for the latter.

Now, you might be saying: “Hollywood Brown isn’t enough, wide receiver is still the Chiefs’ biggest need.”

If Mahomes doesn’t have proper protection, it won’t matter who he’s throwing the ball to. Shoring up the offensive line needs to take some level of priority, even with other offensive needs at wide receiver and running back also apparent.