Kansas City used a second-round pick on center Creed Humphrey, a sixth-round pick on 6-6, 321-pound right guard Trey Smith and turned to free agency to sign left guard Joe Thuney, who had helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls.
Four seasons later, Humphrey and Thuney are first-team All-Pro on a No. 1-seeded Chiefs team that’s going for an unprecedented third Super Bowl win. As for Smith, well, he’s started every game since Day 3 of that ’21 draft.
So go ahead and argue that sacks are the quarterback’s fault. Or that the tackles are to blame (the Chiefs played that Super Bowl with backup tackles). Or that a different scheme might help the current players who are struggling.
In Kansas City, Andy Reid knew that even Patrick Mahomes, the Houdini of quarterbacks, can’t overcome pressure up the middle. When faced with tough questions about their offensive line in 2021, Reid and his GM, Brett Veach, chose the answers that included different players.