The Kansas City Chiefs made a splash in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft when they traded up four spots to select Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy. But according to Nate Taylor of The Athletic, Worthy was a consolation prize of sorts.
“Midway through the first round, Veach and Borgonzi began calling teams to find a trade partner that would allow them to move up more than 10 spots. The first prospect the Chiefs targeted was Amarius Mims, the tackle from Georgia,” Taylor wrote on April 29. “Although Mims played right tackle in college, many teams believed he had the talent to be a starting left tackle. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Mims with the 18th pick.
“The next best option, the Chiefs felt, was Worthy.”
Chiefs Still Addressed Key Roster Hole Without Spending 1st-Round Draft Capital
Had the two-time defending Super Bowl champions selected Mims, it wouldn’t have immediately solved their starting left tackle woes.
Mims had very limited playing time as a starter in college — he only had eight career starts at Georgia. So, it would have taken at least a year of development before the team could trust him as a full-time starter, especially because Mims — who played right tackle in college — would have transitioned to left tackle if he played for the Chiefs.
Instead, the Chiefs waited until the second round to address the position when they selected BYU OT Kingsley Suamataia 63rd overall. Suamataia, though he might not have as high an upside as Mims does, can develop into a high-end starter for Kansas City within the next 1-2 years as well. So, the team addressed a key roster hole without spending a day one draft pick on it, and can potentially rely on Wanya Morris in the interim unless Suamataia can beat him out this summer.
Though the first round of the draft didn’t play out the exact way Kansas City wanted to, getting Worthy in the first round and Suamataia in the second round was a great Plan B.
Brett Veach: Chiefs Had Kingsley Suamataia ‘Really High’ on Draft Board
Speaking to the media on April 29, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach talked about Suamataia and what the team’s plan for him is.
“We had him up there (on the draft board) obviously really high. (You) have to be prepared for all types of scenarios. Depending on how the draft unfolded, you never know,” Veach said during his press conference. “I think we had a pretty good indication with the number of quarterbacks this year and the number of other offensive linemen that there would be a chance that a player like Xavier (Worthy) might slide to where we picked. But he (Kingsley Suamataia) was certainly in one of those top 25-40 considerations.
“He was potentially a consideration at number 32, and he was potentially a consideration had we traded down,” Veach continued. “To have the draft unfold like it did and be able to select him at 63, we feel very fortunate and lucky. As far as position, he’s played both left and right tackle.
“I think plans are to throw him right there at left tackle and let him compete and battle with Wanya (Morris). We’ll see how it goes. I mentioned before the draft that we certainly like some of the things we saw out of Wanya last year, and it was our job to bring in competition. I think those guys will be excited to compete with each other.”
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Chiefs Attempted 1st-Round Trade-Up for Georgia Star: Report