Chiefs trade up in second round, draft massive new bodyguard for Patrick Mahomes

The Chiefs couldn’t wait one pick longer and opted to make a deal with the 49ers to move up one spot in the second round. In order to convince San Francisco to switch spots, they gave the 49ers their own second-round pick (64th) and a fifth-rounder (173rd). The 49ers gave them the 63rd pick and a sixth-round, 211th overall selection.

With the trade, the Chiefs moved ahead of San Francisco in order to draft 6-foot-5, 326-pound BYU offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia. Suamataia started his career at Oregon before transferring to the Cougars. He started his redshirt freshman season for BYU at right tackle in 2022, earning Freshman All-American honors. The following year, the Cougars moved him to left tackle, where he started 11 games and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.

The Chiefs are looking for a new player to start at tackle across from Jawaan Taylor in 2024 following the departure of Donovan Smith in free agency. The team returns Wanya Morris and Lucas Niang, two third-round picks from the past four years, but neither has established himself as a reliable starter on the offensive line. Kansas City had been linked to the 21-year-old earlier this week, hosting him on a “top-30” visit.

While some teams viewed him as a potential late-first-round option, Suamataia was viewed by many as a project at tackle, expecting some time to be needed for development. If the Chiefs are in a hurry, they may rush Suamataia out there early, regardless, but if they can afford to have Morris or Niang hold down the fort until Suamataia has some time to learn and grow, both the Chiefs and their new rookie tackle could stand to benefit.