Kansas City Chiefs’ rapid offensive line overhaul has exceeded almost all expectations – Kansas City Chiefs Blog

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs had high hopes for their offensive line last year after they invested heavily in the position group following a Super Bowl LV loss in which the unit was overwhelmed. They spent free agency dollars on left guard Joe Thuney, traded draft picks to acquire left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. from the Baltimore Ravens, then selected center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith in the 2021 draft.

They might have exceeded those expectations.

“It worked out better because on one end, we were confident in Orlando and Thuney,” general manager Brett Veach said. “On the other end, we had high hopes for Trey and Creed, but those guys playing at the level at which they did certainly was a nice surprise.

“Those are the hopes you have for all the guys you drafted. Sometimes it hits like that. And sometimes it takes time, and sometimes it doesn’t at all. So for those guys to come in and be able to play right away was awesome for us.”

The Chiefs were second last season in pass block win rate (67.8%) and third in run block win rate (74.0%). Individually among regular starters, Humphrey, a second-round pick from Oklahoma, was the top pass-blocking center (97.7%). Thuney, who was signed to a five-year, $80 million contract after spending five seasons with the New England Patriots, was first among guards in PBWR (96.6%), followed by Smith (96.0%), a sixth-round selection from Tennessee.

The Chiefs are looking for more this season.

“We want to be known this year as one of the most physically dominating lines in the league,” Humphrey said. “We have the pieces. We have the guys to do it. That’s our whole outlook, to be physical, for the physicality to show through and to make teams know when they’re playing us that they’re going to be playing against an offensive line that…