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A starting position for the Kansas City Chiefs that will need to be hashed out over the summer is right tackle.
As it stands, 2020 third-round pick Lucas Niang is the penciled-in starter at right tackle in wake of Andrew Wylie joining the Washington Commanders. But there’s another player lurking in the shadows that could potentially overthrow Niang as Kansas City’s starting right tackle.
That player is 2022 fifth-round pick Darian Kinnard, and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is “excited” for what’s to come during his sophomore campaign.
“(Darian) Kinnard, you know, I’m excited for him,” Veach said on April 20 during his press conference. “And I think he’ll have a chance to play, play some tackle. We certainly think he has flex (appeal), and he may end up being ultimately a better guard.”
Darian Kinnard Struggled Early During Rookie Season
Darian Kinnard, 23, was expected to compete for Kansas City’s starting right tackle job in 2022, though the option to kick him inside as a guard has been discussed since he was drafted as well.
Kinnard did compete for the starting role but was quickly out of the running once Andrew Wylie grabbed ahold of the starting job and never gave it up for the remainder of the season, which led to a payday for him during free agency.
Wylie winning the starting right tackle job was mainly due to his own play. But Kinnard struggled to grasp a new system in Year 1 of the NFL, which made it even easier on Wylie. Not to mention that Lucas Niang began the season on the physically unable to perform list (PUP). Geron Christian and Roderick Johnson were also in the running, but Johnson was cut at the end of the preseason and Christian became a reserve player and was then released in January.
“He’s played right tackle in the past, and he was the guy that, you know, struggled a little early on, but I think toward the end of training camp there, and throughout the season, you guys probably don’t get to see as much during the season, but he’s, I think grown rapidly over the last few months,” Veach said of Kinnard on April 20. “I know Coach (Andy) Heck is really excited for where he is, so again, I think he’s a guy that has flexibility, so he’ll probably get reps at both guard and tackle there.”
Chiefs Have ‘A lot of Hopes’ for Lucas Niang
Brett Veach did speak glowingly of Darian Kinnard as he enters Year 2 in the NFL. But during the same press conference, Veach also spoke very highly of Lucas Niang, who is deservingly in the driver’s seat for the Chiefs’ starting right tackle job.
“We have a lot of hopes for Lucas (Niang),” Veach said. “And you know, he was the guy that actually won that starting right tackle position, then he got hurt. It’s been a little bit of an uphill battle. Um, he had a pretty bad injury there. But he has worked phenomenally to get in shape. And Rick (Burkholder) and his staff have done a great job of continuing to get him in the right positions to go out there and be productive.”
Prior to tearing his patellar tendon in Week 17 of the 2021 season, which sidelined him until Week 12 of the 2022 season, Niang had started in nine regular season games for the Chiefs. But the problem that has existed with Niang dating back to his college days is his ability to stay healthy.
Since opting out of his rookie season due to concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Niang has missed a total of 15 games over the last two seasons due to injury. That signals durability concerns for the third-year offensive tackle, which is why he is not a lock to become a 2023 starter for the Chiefs and puts Kinnard very much in play to win the starting right tackle job.
It goes without saying that Niang will have to stay healthy if he wants to be Kansas City’s starting right tackle next season. But even if he is healthy, he will still have to fight off Kinnard, who seems to be trending in the right direction based on Veach’s remarks.
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