By most accounts, the Kansas City Chiefs nailed their first-round pick in the NFL Draft. After watching Patrick Mahomes get chased around and sacked six times in a Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Chiefs solidified their offensive line by selecting Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons with the 32nd overall pick.
The move gained Mahomes’s instant approval late on Thursday night but it may have had a different feeling among those in the trenches. Free agent addition Jaylon Moore may have been considered the biggest loser upon Simmons’s arrival but general manager Brett Veach suggested it may be Jawaan Taylor that has the most on the line heading into next season.
Brett Veach Puts Jawaan Taylor on Notice After Chiefs Add Josh Simmons
Veach addressed reporters on Thursday at the conclusion of the first round and admitted that the decision to add Simmons was to protect Mahomes. But when he turned his attention to the tackles on the roster, he called out Taylor, who needs to stay healthy to keep his spot in the starting lineup.
“When Pat Mahomes is your quarterback, you can never have enough of those guys [tackles],” Veach said via Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. “It’s a long season. Jaylon Moore has to stay healthy. Jawaan [Taylor] is doing a good job now with rehab from his knee, but he has to stay healthy. …You have him under contract now for five years and these guys are so hard to find.”
The Chiefs’ 2024 season was a grind in part to injuries at offensive tackle as Kingsley Suamataia couldn’t take the opening job at the beginning of the year. D.J. Humphries suffered a hamstring injury after being brought in last November and the ailments got so bad that Joe Thuney had to slide over from guard to left tackle.
Another concern was Taylor’s health as he battled through a knee injury last season. Although he played in 16 games, Taylor allowed 43 pressures on 761 pass-blocking snaps and racked up a whopping 19 penalties at right tackle. While Simmons played left tackle at Ohio State (and coming off a torn patellar tendon), he has experience at the right side dating back to his two years at San Diego State and could overtake Taylor with Moore playing the left side.
It leads to what should be an interesting battle as the Chiefs prepare for the 2025 season and it puts Taylor on notice as Kansas City has another ringer to protect Mahomes.
