The Kansas City Chiefs were one game away from a historic “Three-Peat” in February. Now, the reigning AFC champions will be looking to bounce back in 2025 but will need to drastically improve their offensive line to do so.
In his latest article for PFSN, Sterling Xie suggests the Chiefs trade for Jonah Williams from the Arizona Cardinals.
Why the Chiefs Need Jonah Williams
Experienced tackle Jonah Williams is in the final year of his two-year $30 million deal with the Cardinals. Xie explains what the player would bring to the Chiefs.
“Left tackle was a revolving door for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024, which ended with All-Pro guard Joe Thuney being forced to play out of position. And while the Chiefs surely hope Kingsley Suamataia takes a step forward in his second season, they’ll need to provide him with better roster competition than D.J. Humphries (who is a free agent).
With that in mind, the Chiefs could acquire an experienced starting tackle in Jonah Williams. In five seasons, Williams has started 59 games. He played left tackle his first three seasons with the Bengals before Cincinnati signed Orlando Brown Jr. (ironically from the Chiefs). Williams was pushed out to right tackle in 2023 and stayed there in 2024 for the Cardinals.
His 2024 campaign was injury-shortened to six games, but Williams did play well when healthy. His 3.4% pressure rate allowed was the best of his career, and he would have ranked seventh among OTs if he had played enough snaps to qualify. For context, Jawaan Taylor ranked 31st with a 5.7% pressure rate, while Wanya Morris ranked 59th at 8.3%.”
The Philadelphia Eagles swamped Patrick Mahomes in New Orleans, despite not dialing up a single blitz during the Super Bowl. If the Chiefs want to return the Lombardi Trophy to Kansas City, they’ll need to do a better job of protecting their talisman.
Chiefs Could Address Issues Through the Draft
If the Chiefs can’t add to their offensive line via trades or free agency, they will almost certainly do so in April’s draft. According to PFSN’s recent seven-round mock, Oregon’s athletic tackle, Josh Conerly Jr., would fit the bill.
“Oregon has produced some tremendous offensive linemen over the years, and Josh Conerly Jr. might be the most athletic of the bunch on tape. He has the lateral quickness and footwork in pass protection to neutralize speed rushers and the pad level to maximize what he has to work with from a play strength perspective.”
The mock also predicts that the team will follow up that pick with run-blocking tight end Elijah Arroyo from Miami in the third round.
“Elijah Arroyo is a reliable run blocker who brings ideal effort in the trenches, and he has better deep speed than most at his position. The Chiefs will need to find a replacement for Travis Kelce someday, and while that’s a very high bar to reach, Arroyo could be a good starting option for them in the future.”
However, the Chiefs address their offensive line issues is up to them, but it’s imperative that they do.