Recent Chiefs Draft Pick’s Comments Are Scary but Important

Believe it or not, the Kansas City Chiefs are already well under a month away from opening their 2025-26 regular season. September 5 will be here before anyone knows it, meaning Andy Reid’s team needs to take advantage of every rep it gets between now and then.

Training camp was a perfect time for that, especially for young players who are learning on the fly. The preseason is another avenue for those who need developmental snaps. Left guard Kingsley Suamataia could benefit from them as much as anyone.

Kansas City is trying him at a new position, after all, in hopes that he’ll pan out there. How is the second-year man faring? He provided a progress report after the Chiefs’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Friday.

Kingsley Sumataia’s Double-Edged Sword of ‘Starting to Get the Feel’ at Guard

Suamataia’s comments can be viewed in one of two ways if you’re a Chiefs fan: optimistic or downright frightening.

“I’ve still got stuff to improve on,” Suamataia said. “I’m just starting to get the feel of that guard stuff. Overall, just glad to be out there [and] give my 100% every time I’m out there.”

When asked to evaluate Suamataia’s performance in Seattle, Reid deferred to the entire front line.

“I think the offensive line did OK,” Reid said. “I think — I want to take a look at it and see [but] I thought they did OK, that group.”

When asked what he needs to get better at, Suamataia provided a reminder that’s important to keep close. He’s still relatively new to the guard position, which means he’s essentially starting over next to a player logging snaps at his old spot.

“Second preseason game next to a tackle,” Suamataia said. “Just getting our chemistry together and getting out there so we can be on the same page.”

Advanced stats indicate that Suamataia has plenty to improve on. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s posted serviceable overall grades against the Seahawks (64.5) and Arizona Cardinals (60.0). His run blocking, in particular, stands out with grades of 68 or higher in both contests. On the other hand, the former second-round pick grades extremely poorly in pass protection overall. His 16.1 composite mark there is horrifying.

The eye test doesn’t lie, either. On multiple occasions, Suamataia has been slow to get off the snap. In other instances, he was caught off balance and lost his rep. He’s flashing good and bad, but that makes rookie left tackle Josh Simmons look like a world-beater.

With Week 1 approaching, the BYU product wants to keep improving.

“Just getting 10% better every day, man,” Suamataia said. “Yeah, it’s a new position but, shoot, we ball. Just going out there, playing with the boys [and] just getting better every day.”

Weighing Chiefs’ Options if Suamataia Doesn’t Work Out

Suamataia’s transition to left guard is taking place because he looked completely lost at left tackle as a rookie. Lasting just a few weeks into the 2024-25 season, the Chiefs quickly pulled the plug on that experiment. Their results elsewhere weren’t great, leading to the pursuit of Simmons and the offseason signing of Jaylon Moore. Suamataia was originally framed as being in competition with veteran Mike Caliendo for a starting spot, but that was never truly the case.

Earlier in August, Reid said he was “happy” with Suamataia’s progress. That didn’t stop the team from giving Moore, a tackle, training camp reps at left guard.

That raises the question of what Kansas City will do if their young prospect fails again. The natural answer is to turn to Caliendo, who played 237 offensive snaps last regular season. The downside is he’s a clear backup-quality player at this point, not a starter. Moore, who’s also filled in at right tackle for the recovering Jawaan Taylor, has zero career snaps at either guard spot. Is that actually on the table?

In an ideal world, the Chiefs never have to find out. It remains to be seen how long of a leash Suamataia will be given in regular-season play. Last year, that answer was two starts.

As he looks to make progress, Suamataia must keep in mind he’s on the fast track of NFL development programs as Kansas City chases a Super Bowl. At the same time, fans must keep in mind he’s a young player with limited prior opportunities to grow.