Much was made of the Philadelphia Eagles’ pass rush against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Philly defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was praised for not blitzing once during “The Big Game” yet got home against Patrick Mahomes, sacking the 29-year-old signal caller six times and forcing two interceptions.
While the Eagles’ defensive scheme received all the credit, the Chiefs’ inability to slow down the rush was put under the microscope.
That’s why it should come as no surprise that Kansas City is projected to address the offensive line in Daniel Jeremiah’s latest NFL mock draft with the selection of Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr.
In Kansas City’s defense, they were dealing with several offensive line injuries throughout the 2024 season. Tackle D.J. Humphries was added to the roster in November in attempt to alleviate the offensive line issues. Left guard Joe Thuney moved to left tackle this year.
That pushed Mike Caliendo into the starting lineup in Thuney’s old position and and required Wayna Morris to start for much of the year.
In 2024, Kansas City allowed 41 sacks (16th-most), a big increase from 28 (second-fewest) last year and 26 (third-fewest) in 2022.
Shoring up the offensive line with Conerly, one of the draft’s top tackle prospects, would be a big boost to the Chiefs’ quick-hitting offense which had shifted its focus to short routes to get the ball out of Mahomes’ hands quickly.
Conerly received a 78.1 grade on Pro Football Focus, and they also noted he had “quick hands for hand fighting/resetting” among his strengths.
