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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed the media on October 3 ahead of the Monday Night Football matchup with the New Orleans Saints.
Within the press conference was a question about right tackle Jawaan Taylor’s string of false start and/or illegal formation penalties going back to last season. The veteran coach’s answer was very direct.
“Yeah, he’s gotta fix those. I mean, he’s gotta fix it,” Reid responded. “That’s the bottom line.”
“He’s very quick off the ball and takes a lot of pride in that,” the Chiefs HC went on. “But you can’t be — you got to make sure you’re not offsides. So, he’s gotta take care of that part.”
Then, with confidence, Reid concluded that Taylor “will” correct this issue.
Jawaan Taylor Has Been Flagged for 29 Penalties Since Joining Chiefs
Taylor has suited up for a total of 25 games since signing with Kansas City in 2023 (including playoffs). Over that span of appearances, the veteran blocker has been flagged 29 times by NFL officials according to Pro Football Focus.
24 of those penalties came in 2023 — a season in which Taylor led all NFL offensive linemen in penalties. The next closest player was offensive tackle Mekhi Becton, who was flagged 18 times. After that, the third highest number of penalties for a single OL was 13.
Only 20 of Taylor’s penalties occurred during the regular season.
In 2024, it’s been more of the same throughout the first four weeks of play. Taylor has drawn five penalty flags in four games, which is tied for sixth highest around the league.
Only this year, he’s not alone. Four-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil has been flagged an astounding 12 times in four starts. He is the current league leader for all NFL offensive linemen, but five blockers have already been flagged six times or more since Week 1.
Jawaan Taylor Is Performing Well Despite Penalties
On the bright side, Taylor is doing his job and living up to his $80 million contract whenever he’s not catching the attention of referees.
PFF has awarded him the best run blocking grade of his entire career so far in 2024, and he’s performed even better in pass protection.
In 152 pass blocking snaps this season, Taylor has only allowed 1 sack and 1 quarterback hit. His 6 quarterback pressures against are also solid for an offensive tackle and rank third for the Chiefs offensive line behind center Creed Humphrey and left guard Joe Thuney — when you combine Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia’s numbers at left tackle (9 pressures).
For Taylor, it’ll just come down to limiting those penalties, as Reid noted. If he can do that, he’ll likely begin to rank among the top offensive tackles in the sport.
Chiefs Open up Practice Window for RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, DE Charles Omenihu Doesn’t Appear Close to Return
Among the other takeaways from Reid’s Week 5 press conference were updates on running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, defensive end Charles Omenihu and defensive end BJ Thompson.
The former is returning to practice as the team opened up his 21-day window to return off the non-football illness list. Reid relayed that Edwards-Helaire would get some reps with the scout team on October 3 to get him “back in the swing of things.”
The Chiefs HC also noted that Edwards-Helaire is in “good shape” despite multiple bouts with stomach illnesses brought on by PTSD.
On Omenihu’s recovery from a torn ACL, Reid’s response was more cryptic, but didn’t sound particularly close. “I think that [return] will be a little bit here,” he said.
Finally, Reid said that Thompson is “doing good,” but is also still being monitored by doctors. He stressed patience while discussing the second-year draft pick’s progress. Thompson suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest back in June.
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