The Chiefs’ right guard problem has reached a breaking point, and the answer might already be sitting on the bench.QQ
With the season slipping away and injuries piling up, the Kansas City Chiefs have little to lose by finally giving Hunter Nourzad or C.J. Hanson meaningful snaps up front.
The Kansas City Chiefs were already out of reasons to keep their younger linemen on the bench—and that’s before they were eliminated from the postseason.
The 2024 NFL Draft brought two late-round offensive linemen to the Chiefs roster: fifth-round choice Hunter Nourzad and seventh-round selection C.J. Hanson. Both players are nearly halfway through their rookie deals, and both players remain as unproven players on the roster.
As the Chiefs’ schedule nears its completion, the team would do well to test at least one of those players with some official snaps. Either Nourzad or Hanson would be fine, but leaving both of them on the sideline not only lacks imagination for the present but also handcuffs the franchise a bit for the future.
The Chiefs have been starting Mike Caliendo at right guard for the last few weeks with Trey Smith sitting out due to an ankle injury. While Caliendo has given the Chiefs a floor that coaches clearly trust, he’s clearly the weakest link in front of Patrick Mahomes on game days. The idea that no one behind Caliendo could do better feels silly, knowing that both Hanson and Nourzad haven’t been given a chance to prove themselves in a situation where at least trying something new could yield surprising results.
The Kansas City Chiefs have little to lose by finally giving Hunter Nourzad or C.J. Hanson meaningful snaps up front.
Let’s not forget that Esa Pole was just pressed into starting reps at left tackle in a pinch in Week 14 when Wanya Morris suffered a lower leg injury (who was himself subbing for Josh Simmons). The Chiefs came away pleased enough with the results to stick with Pole and offer up plenty of praise in media sessions in the days after the loss to Houston.
Nourzad was drafted out of Penn State as a versatile offensive lineman who came into the NFL with plenty of starting experience in the Big Ten. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked him as his No. 4 overall center in the draft class, but with years of experience on the left and right side of the interior as well, Nourzad looked like a smart grab for the Chiefs on the third day of the draft.
Hanson was a project out of Holy Cross whose uber-athletic profile gave Andy Heck a potentially exciting prospect to develop. Hanson has spent most of his sophomore season on the team’s practice squad, but was recently signed to the active roster after the Chiefs used up all of their in-season elevations on him.
If the Chiefs felt like a player like Hanson had no discernible potential after watching him play for the last two years, there’d be no reason to keep him on the roster. No one would even bat an eye if K.C. decided to release a former seventh-round flyer. Instead, Hanson is still around and occupying a roster spot at a position where the Chiefs are already leaning on a below-average player (or worse) with a known ceiling that’s not going to get any higher the longer the Chiefs play him.
What do the Chiefs have to gain by not turning to Nourzad or Hanson at this point at right guard, should Trey Smith remain out? If the experiment proves disastrous, Caliendo is waiting in the wings to be the stopgap they already rely on him to be. But the ability to properly evaluate what’s untested on the roster feels like a move the Chiefs should have already made.
