The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs don’t have a ton of question marks coming into the 2024 NFL season. One point of contention, though, is how well the offensive tackles will hold up. Right now, it’s a competition between Wanya Morris and rookie Kingsley Suamataia at left tackle, and Jawaan Taylor — who led the NFL with 20 penalties last season — on the right side. 

The news is a lot better with the center and guards, because the Chiefs probably have the NFL’s best interior offensive line. 

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently ranked the league’s top inside blockers with the help of executives, coaches and scouts. Left guard Joe Thuney ranked fourth overall, center Creed Humphrey ranked seventh, and right guard Trey Smith ranked ninth. Not bad at all!

“Grip strength — once he’s attached, he stays attached,” one AFC executive said of Thuney’s pass protection. “Incredibly fundamental.”

“Extremely consistent, especially in pass pro, good athlete, very smart and tough and very, very steady,” one NFL personnel director of Humphrey. “A great communicator and field general. Became better than I gave him credit for coming out.”

“Powerful and violent at the point of attack,” one executive said of Smith. “Can really dominate in the run game. More of a gap-scheme specialist so it’s pick your flavor with him. But I could see why people who are high on him are really high.”

As long as that interior offensive line holds up, the Chiefs should be fine on offense — as long as there aren’t too many plays in which their tackles are asked to maintain pole position.