The Kansas City Chiefs agreed Saturday to acquire offensive tackle Diego Pounds from the Baltimore Ravens, trading for a swing tackle just a day before teams must trim to 53 players.
Kansas City is sending a 2028 conditional sixth-round pick to Baltimore to close the deal, according to ESPN Chiefs reporter Nate Taylor, settling the question of what the Chiefs gave up for a tackle who turned heads all preseason.
The Ravens will send Pounds to Kansas City ahead of Sunday’s roster deadline, according to Pro Football Talk‘s Josh Alper. Baltimore chose to trade the undrafted rookie rather than risk losing him on waivers once cuts hit.
Pounds signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss and quickly made a name for himself. He started 24 games at left tackle for the Rebels across his final two college seasons and logged extra snaps at North Carolina before that, Alper noted.
Diego Pounds Fills a Need on the Chiefs Offensive Line
Kansas City has been quietly restocking its tackle room all camp. The team lists Josh Simmons and Jaylon Moore as its projected starters, with Esa Pole and Kahlil Benson stacked behind them, according to the Pro Football Talk report.
Pounds gives the Chiefs another body who can swing outside and protect Patrick Mahomes‘ blind side in a pinch, a priority for a roster still chasing another deep playoff run. He played almost exclusively left tackle in college and carried that form into a strong Baltimore preseason, posting a 90.9 overall grade through the Ravens’ first two exhibition games without allowing a sack, hit or pressure across 15 pass-blocking snaps, to go with a 91.1 run-blocking grade, according to Ravens Wire.
Kansas City traded for guard Josh Ezeudu from the New York Giants on Aug. 26 for a 2028 seventh-round pick, according to CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles, who graded the deal a B-minus for Kansas City. The Chiefs also parted ways with tackle Wanya Morris in June and released veteran Jawaan Taylor this offseason, thinning a group that now leans on cheap, unproven additions like Pounds and Ezeudu.
Diego Pounds’ Path From Raleigh to the NFL
Diego Lanzell Pounds, listed at 6-foot-6 and roughly 325 pounds, grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and starred at Millbrook High School, where he didn’t move to the offensive line full time until his junior year. He signed with North Carolina as a three-star recruit ranked among ESPN’s top 25 tackles nationally and the No. 18 player in the state, according to Ole Miss Athletics.
He redshirted his first year in Chapel Hill, then started eight games at left tackle in 2023, blocking for the ACC’s top passing offense and running back Omarion Hampton, the nation’s fifth-leading rusher that season, per the same team bio. Pounds transferred to Ole Miss in 2024, started nine of 13 games that year, then locked down the starting left tackle job for all 15 games in 2025 as a senior.
Undrafted this spring, Pounds signed with Baltimore and made the most of his opportunity, outplaying his roster odds before Kansas City came calling. He now joins a Chiefs organization with a recent track record of developing overlooked offensive linemen into legitimate starters, and a fresh chance to prove that pattern holds again.
Chiefs Trade For 6-Foot-6, 325-Pound Ravens Offensive Tackle Before Cut-Down