![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="439" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
The Kansas City Chiefs began the legal tampering period of free agency by signing offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor to a four-year, $80 million contract with $60 million in guarantees, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on March 13.
The defending Super Bowl champions beginning Day 1 of the legal tampering period with a major splash stirred many emotions on Twitter.
“Jerry Jones really got people believing the Cowboys can’t build around Dak Prescott as the Chiefs continue to spend money while paying Patrick Mahomes on average $45 million a season…” another user wrote.
“Your new #Chiefs offensive tackle. Younger than Orlando and Laremy Tunsil and had a really good year on Jacksonville’s right side last season,” PJ Green of Fox 4 in Kansas City wrote. “Fans will see that he doesn’t false start, he’s right on time with the snap.”
“I absolutely love this for Taylor,” Brandon Thorn of Bleacher Report wrote. “Solid starter who is 25 coming off of his best season and now is in one of the select few truly ‘elite’ OL infrastructures (Reid-Heck-Mahomes).”
“Jawaan Taylor is one of the handful of best pure humans I’ve covered. What a life changing contract for him,” John Shipley of Jaguars Report wrote.
Chiefs Planning to Flip Jawaan Taylor to Left Tackle
Jawaan Taylor, 25, entered the NFL as a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019. He spent the last four seasons as a full-time starter for Jacksonville and surrendered a total of 149 pressures (108 QB hurries, 28 sacks, 4 QB hits) during that timeframe, according to PFF.
During the 2022 season, Taylor surrounded a total of just 16 pressures (11 QB hurries, 5 sacks) in 17 regular season games played. In Jacksonville’s two playoff games, he surrendered 5 total pressures (4 QB hurries, 1 QB hit) but did not allow a sack.
According to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, Taylor is “anticipated” to make a switch to left tackle after playing all but 18 snaps at right tackle during his NFL career.
“The Chiefs believe Jawaan Taylor, who’s played primarily right tackle, is athletic enough to make the switch to left tackle, I’m told,” McDowell wrote on March 13. “Will wait to see how the next few days/weeks shake out, but anticipate him on the left side.”
The decision to let Orlando Brown Jr. walk and replace him with Taylor is a smart one by general manager Brett Veach. Instead of paying Brown $20+ million per year, the Chiefs have opted to sign Taylor for $15 million per year guaranteed and switch him to left tackle. That gives the defending Super Bowl champions a potential quality left tackle at a value price over the next four years.
Where Chiefs Stand Along the Offensive Line
Prior to the Chiefs signing Jawaan Taylor, news broke that the Washington Commanders had signed former Kansas City starting right tackle Andrew Wylie to a three-year, $24 million deal, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.
With Wylie gone and Taylor expected to slide into the starting left tackle spot, here is what Kansas City’s starting offensive line looks like, going from left to right: Jawaan Taylor, Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Lucas Niang.
Niang is a former third-round pick of the Chiefs in 2020 who lost his starting job to Wylie after tearing his left patellar tendon in January 2022. He is currently “penciled in” as the starting right tackle for the Chiefs based on what Brett Veach said about him at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
“He lost a lot of weight (during his return last season), and I think we know he can do it,” Veach said of Niang, according to The Athletic’s Nate Taylor. “We feel confident in him. If that’s the case, we’d go into the offseason (program) with Lucas penciled in there, and he’d have to show us that he’s back to his old form.”
1 Comment