Kansas City Chiefs Could Replace Donovan Smith with Green Bay Packers Left Tackle

The Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl champions. With back-to-back titles and three in the last five years, they are unquestionably the team to beat in the NFL. However, this means they will have a bullseye on their back for years to come. Following their third Super Bowl victory, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots went nearly a decade without winning another. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs must hope they do not have to wait too long.

To remain at the top of the NFL, the Chiefs must look to improve their roster, as the other 31 teams will almost definitely do as well. One of the areas where they have room for improvement

Interior offensive lineman Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, and Nick Allegretti were all top-five blockers on the team, but tackles Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor were ordinary at best. Smith, in particular, got lower PFF blocking grades than any of the Chiefs’ starting lineman.

In order to enhance and protect Mahomes, Kansas City should replace Smith with a soon-to-be ex-Green Bay Packers left tackle.

In 2023, the Chiefs signed Donovan Smith to a one-year contract worth $3 million to protect Mahomes’ blindside. As seen by his Super Bowl triumph, he performed admirably. Smith, on the other hand, will be on the wrong side of 30 in 2024, having allowed 53 total pressures in 2023, the third most in his career and the third-worst. He hadn’t been subjected to that many pressures since his second season in the NFL.

Due to his diminishing performance, the Chiefs may be better off letting Smith leave in free agency this offseason. With $23 million in cap space to work with in 2024, Kansas City is likely to search for another bargain in free agency to avoid spending the majority of their space on one player at one position.

Yosh Nijman, a swing lineman for the Green Bay Packers, is an upcoming free agency who could suit well. Green Bay has two young past 2022 draft selections, Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker, who appear to be the future at both tackle positions. Nijman did not have as much playing time as he had in previous seasons because to their appearance in 2023.

However, this is not because Nijman was bad. The Packers committed to a youth movement in 2023, which meant that young second-year players and rookies received more playing time than veterans at numerous positions. Because of his lack of playing time in 2023, Nijman might be a solid free agent signing at a low cost.