The Kansas City Chiefs don’t appear to be done adding to its roster this offseason.
Patrick Mahomes looked more human than human in Super Bowl 55, dropping our jaws to the floor harder than he has so far in his career with some of the most incredible plays ever witnessed on a football field.
Despite this, the Chiefs were blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Mahomes’ most embarrassing loss of his career. Kansas CIty’s electric offense was held out of the endzone, scoring exactly zero touchdowns for the first time in Mahomes’ professional career and just the third time since 1975 that a team failed to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl (both the Jared Goff Rams and the ‘75 Vikings failed to cross the goal line).
Mahomes was not the issues in the Super Bowl, the offensive line was. Both Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher missed the game with injuries and in doing so exposed a Death Star-style flaw in the Chiefs system that blew everything up.
Both Fisher and Schwartz are now gone, but the offensive line issues remain despite the Chiefs best efforts this offseason. Kansas City signed Joe Thuney and Kyle Long, but still have a need at left tackle.
Kansas City Chiefs still tying to land two Pro Bowl offensive tackles
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chiefs recently checked in on Russell Okung and are could end up being a landing spot for Orlando Brown Jr., the Baltimore Ravens lineman who appears to be on his way out.
Brown is a Pro Bowl tackle who instantly upgrades the Chiefs line to one of the best in the league. Kansas City clearly has that goal in mind given the swings it’s taken in free agency thus far. There was talk of the Chiefs landing Trent Williams, so much so that even Williams himself thought he was going to Kansas City before ultimately returning to San Francisco.
Okung isn’t the top tackle he used to be but he’s a veteran upgrade at a position of serious need for the Chiefs. No disrespect to Martinas Rankins but opponents looking at ways to beat the Chiefs will watch tape of the Bucs demolition of Kansas City in the Super Bowl while circling Rankins’ name.
Sliding Okung into the starting left tackle slot gives the Chiefs a line with seven Pro Bowls to go around as well as Super Bowl experience at every position except Long’s (blame the Bears, not him).
Whether it’s trading for Brown or snagging Okung in free agency, the Chiefs clearly want to plug a fatal flaw in its juggernaut offense. If they do, a repeat performance from Super Bowl 55 will be the last thing anyone expects.