NFL Insider Makes Bold Statement on 2 Critical Chiefs Signings

Getty Kansas City Chiefs new left tackle Donovan Smith with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Many questioned the Kansas City Chiefs front office when they traded in offensive tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie for Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith in free agency over the offseason.

After all, Smith is coming off the most unreliable season of his career and just turned 30 in June, while Taylor received a large paycheck to man the righthand side of the OL — although the Chiefs philosophy on this old-school mentality is different than most. On the surface, one could argue the four-man swap was a major risk on the part of general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid.

Those two have earned the benefit of the doubt around Chiefs Kingdom, however, and the early reports from training camp illustrate why. On August 3, NFL Network media member James Palmer relayed some Chiefs notes, including one important observation on Smith and Taylor.

“After a down year Donovan Smith has had a really good camp,” he informed, adding boldly: “[Patrick] Mahomes might have the best tackles of his career.”

Woah! Stop the presses. Better than Brown and Wylie, Brown and Lucas Niang, and even Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher? Considering the offseason chatter, that’d certainly be ironic if Palmer’s prediction came true.

Chiefs Rookie OT Wanya Morris Is ‘Doing Really Well’

Veteran offensive guard Joe Thuney spoke with reporters on August 4, and he was asked about rookie offensive tackle Wanya Morris — another key addition to the blocking unit in 2023.

“He’s doing really well,” Thuney voiced. “Kind of switching around from both sides [as a swing tackle]. He’s in his playbook all the time, learning the details of each play. He works really hard too, strong, really nice guy. He’s just absorbing a lot and doing really well.”

It was nice to hear some veteran appreciation from Thuney, and different KC reporters have been noticing Morris’ emergence as well.

“Chiefs OL Wanya Morris has been working with the first team as its swing tackle,” Arrowhead Pride’s Pete Sweeney stated on August 5. “He says he remains comfortable doing it.”

Sweeney added that Morris told the media that “OL coach Andy Heck wants him to keep pushing to learn — and he likes his progress so far.”

Fellow Arrowhead Pride analyst Caleb James agreed with this assessment on August 6 while discussing the offensive line depth as a current strength of this KC roster.

“We also saw rookie Wanya Morris play a few snaps at both right and left tackle,” James wrote. “This suggests that he is being considered the team’s primary swing tackle ahead of both Lucas Niang and Prince Tega Wanogho.”

Chiefs Analyst Highlights Nick Allegretti as One of NFL’s ‘Best Backup Interior Offensive Linemen’

In the same article, James also spoke highly of the versatile Nick Allegretti — an underrated cog that the Chiefs re-signed this spring.

“We saw reserve interior lineman Nick Allegretti fill in at right guard, left guard and center [at practice on August 5],” James shared. “While no starters are at risk of losing their job, it is great for Allegretti to build chemistry with the starters.”

“A starter for 12 games during his career — along with one Super Bowl — Allegretti is one of the league’s best backup interior offensive linemen,” the analyst went on. “His ability to play guard and center has made him a valuable part of the team’s roster.”

James concluded that “quality depth on the offensive front will be a key component in another deep playoff run,” and he expressed a lot of confidence in the OL’s construction so far. With players like Morris and Allegretti on the roster, it’ll be interesting to see how many blockers Coach Reid decides to keep on the 53 this time around.