Super Bowl LIX did not go well for the Kansas City Chiefs, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times, turned the ball over three times, and was under constant duress from the Eagles’ defensive line. Philadelphia dominated in that area, got a great game from Jalen Hurts, and turned the Super Bowl into a 34-0 blowout that ended with a slightly deceiving final score of 40-22.
It obviously was a rough night for the Chiefs’ offensive line. But what Vikings fans — and fans of numerous other teams — might care most about is the performance of right guard Trey Smith, the 25-year-old who is one of the top players (at any position) set to hit free agency next month. What role did he play in the disastrous night for the KC offense?
The answer, from looking at the Pro Football Focus grades and skimming through some of the tape, is that Smith wasn’t great, but he was also far from the biggest issue for the Chiefs up front. He didn’t help boost his free agent stock like the Eagles’ Milton Williams and Josh Sweat did on the other side, but he also probably didn’t hurt it very much. After all, this was one game against arguably the best defensive line in football, and there’s an 80-game sample size of Smith mostly playing right guard at a high level.
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PFF gave Smith a 63.2 overall grade (60 is considered average). That included a 49.2 mark in pass blocking and a 71.5 grade in run blocking. The bad? He was charged with three pressures, two hurries, and the first and only sack he allowed in 20 games all season. Smith also committed a holding penalty against Jalen Carter and got blown up by Nolan Smith as a puller in the run game.
The good — or at least not that bad? On a lot of reps, Smith was absolutely battling against Carter, who is already one of the best defensive tackles in the league. Carter was the Eagles’ lowest-graded player on Sunday and was held to two total pressures after racking up 20 in their three NFC playoff games. The bigger issue for the Chiefs was the left side, where emergency LT Joe Thuney (who usually plays guard) allowed seven pressures and Mike Caliendo, playing in Thuney’s usual LG spot, earned a 30.1 PFF pass blocking grade.
Interestingly, Smith received a PFF grade below 64 in all three postseason games after doing so just twice in 17 regular season contests. He actually graded better in this one than he did against the Bills and Texans in the last two rounds. Teams like the Vikings will have to do their own study of the film to see how much weight they want to put into these playoffs compared to the four-year sample of Smith’s career.
The safe assumption is that Smith is still very much set up to be compensated quite well in free agency, likely commanding close to $20 million per year on his next contract. The Chiefs may not want to lose one of their top linemen after such a rough overall game from their offense, but they simply might not have the cap space to afford him. That’s where a team like the Vikings has a chance to strike and add him to their offensive line in March.
Rumor: Vikings will be ‘pretty aggressive’ in free agent guard market
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