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Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs told Kingsley Suamataia when they drafted him he would be given a chance to be their starting left tackle. The thought, immediately, was a lot for him.
“Blocking for Patty Mahomes himself? Oh, my, it’s mind-blowing,” Suamataia said shortly after he was selected in the second round. “I’m going to have to come in there and let him trust me like, ‘I’ve got you. Nobody’s going to touch you. Even in practice nobody’s going to touch you.’
“If I do get the opportunity to be his blindside [blocker], that would mean the world to me . . . I can’t wait to be Patty Mahomes’ left-hand man or right-hand man. Whatever one he needs I’m just ready to go.”
The position battle between Suamataia and Wanya Morris, the Chiefs’ third-round draft pick last year, will be the team’s last one for a starting job. The Chiefs will sort through playing time at other positions, but in terms of every-down players, Morris and Suamataia will be the focus of their attention.
Morris started four games at left tackle last season as a rookie in place of the injured Donovan Smith. The Chiefs did not re-sign Smith this year, leaving the spot for either Morris or Suamataia.
“In the middle of the season he got an opportunity there [with] some good, some bad,” general manager Brett Veach said of Morris. “If you look at his body of work last year, I think on one end you’re happy that he was able to come in at the pro level and be competitive. It wasn’t perfect but it also was solid play that I think is a good foundation to build and grow on.
“He’s got to come in here and win that position [and] I think it’s our job to go out there and find competition for that left tackle spot. I think that there’s a lot of promise in there and there’s a lot of ability, but certainly I think it’s our job to bring in some competition there and make him earn that and work for it.”
The Chiefs identified Suamataia as a good prospect to compete with Morris during the draft process. He played three collegiate seasons. He was a backup in 2021 at Oregon, playing in one game and then a two-year starter after transferring to Brigham Young.
The Chiefs traded up one spot near the end of the second round to guarantee they would be able to pick him.
“I wish you were in the draft room with us,” Veach told Suamataia after he was drafted in a video taken by the Chiefs. “Coach [Andy] Reid was sweating for like 10 picks because the two most important things to him are offensive linemen and BYU graduates.”
Suamataia played left tackle last season. He was on the right side in 2022. Jawaan Taylor is the Chiefs’ incumbent at right tackle.
“He really is a prototype left tackle with his athleticism and length,” assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi said of Suamataia. “That’s what we see him as. But he can play both, which is good, having the versatility to do both.
“A lot of these guys, sometimes you only see them on the right or you see them on the left and he’s actually lined up and played both. Having those exposures from an evaluation standpoint, we’ve seen it.”
The Chiefs begin offseason practice later in May but the true competition at left tackle won’t start until training camp, when they are allowed to practice in pads.
“I’ve obviously got to come in and learn the playbook but I’m ready to go,” Suamataia said. “Healthy. Strong . . . I’ve got to put my best foot forward and outwork the guy in front of me.”