When the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off in Green Bay on Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs will have to hold their collective breath and hope the board falls the way they want it to.
Despite the team’s success in recent years, Kansas City has yet to figure out the winning recipe at left tackle. The Chiefs have started a different left tackle in each of their five Super Bowl appearances over the past six years. Each time they lost the championship, their offensive line struggled.
The Chiefs cycled through multiple left tackles last season, beginning with second-year tackle Wanya Morris and second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia. After those two didn’t pan out, the Chiefs took a gamble by signing veteran DJ Humphries in free agency. Ultimately, they were forced to move Joe Thuney to protect the blindside, which turned an All-Pro left guard into just an average-at-best left tackle.
Chiefs could trade up for a long-term left tackle in 2025 NFL Draft
Kansas City signed left tackle Jaylon Moore in free agency, but he’s far from a guaranteed solution. Given the team’s questions at the position, it’s no surprise that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach may be looking at add another offensive tackle to the roster.
The Chiefs have been “actively looking to trade up” in the first round, and they may find plenty of opportunities to trade up on Thursday night due to the makeup of this year’s class. Teams will not be clamoring to climb up the board in the first round. Instead, there are at least eight teams looking to trade back in the draft, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
That list of teams includes the Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 5), the Carolina Panthers (No. 8), the San Francisco 49ers (No. 11), the Atlanta Falcons (No. 15), the Seattle Seahawks (No. 18), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 19), the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 21) and Minnesota Vikings (No. 24). Of those teams, the Steelers and Vikings are likely the only teams in a realistic range for the Chiefs, who currently hold the No. 31 overall pick.
There is a scarcity of high-end talent in this year’s class, but there are four left tackles expected to go in the first round. Two of the top four draft prospects — LSU’s Will Campbell and Missouri’s Armand Membou — are expected to be long gone by the time the Chiefs are on the board with their current selection. By trading up, the Chiefs could select either Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. and Ohio State’s Josh Simmons, who are both currently projected to be selected in the last ten picks of the first round.