Chiefs’ Stefen Wisniewski an ‘underrated signing’ who has helped fuel Super Bowl run
Kansas City Chiefs guard Stefen Wisniewski goes through a long ritual before every game, often outside the glare of cameras or fans’ attention.
The ninth-year pro takes mental reps, then applies them at full speed to his individual pregame warm-ups in run-blocking or pass-block sets while visualizing going against an opponent.
There’s a method to this routine, and Wisniewski drew high praise from general manager Brett Veach, who calls the veteran guard a “pro’s pro.”
“Every pre-game before we kick off, the guy gets me tired watching him,” Veach said with a chuckle. “He’ll warm up for like 45 minutes. (Director of player personnel) Mike Borgonzi and I always joke that he plays an extra game before we even kick off.”
Running back Damien Williams agreed.
“He’ll even sit out on his own and just go through the motions,” Willliams said. “Those are the things that he brings to the field.
“Now, I’m not going to lie. Everybody looks at him and laughs because he’s so serious and locked in with it. But when he brings that to the field, he’s somebody to run behind.”
He would know, of course. Williams’ return to action in Week 16 after missing three games with a rib injury coincided with the insertion of Wisniewski in the Chiefs’ starting lineup at left guard in place of Andrew Wylie, who at the time was dealing with an ankle injury.
Paving the way
In the team’s previous four games before the roster tweak, the Chiefs had rushed for 100 or more yards just once.
From Weeks 16-17, followed by the two playoff games leading to Super Bowl LIV, they’ve rushed for 100 or more yards in four straight games. Wylie was inactive for both playoff games despite putting in practices in the days ahead of each contest.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid cited Wisniewski’s experience as the reason. He played on the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning team after the 2017 season.
“They’re both good players,” Reid said. “There’s nothing wrong with Wylie, it’s just you get in and get going and it’s working. So you stick to it and roll with it. It doesn’t mean Wylie can’t. We do a good job with him in there also. Wiz (Wisniewski) has experience, and his strengths are that. He’s got experience, he’s dirty tough, he brings good energy and he’s brilliant.”
Offensive line coach Andy Heck elaborated.
“He’s a very tough player, a very rugged player,” Heck said. “There’s nasty in there, as well, but the thing I most notice about him is just his steadiness. He’s just rock solid, no highs, no lows. I know exactly what I’m going to get from this guy and I value that greatly.”
Wisniewski, 30, is all of that and more. And he welcomed Reid’s “dirty tough” comment as a badge of honor.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Wisniewski signed a free-agent contract with the Chiefs in October, a move that safety Tyrann Mathieu clearly approved of when looking back at the Chiefs’ season.
“Underrated signing,” Mathieu said emphatically.
Wisniewski arrived having appeared in 134 games with 103 starts with the Oakland Raiders (2011-14), Jacksonville Jaguars (2015) and Eagles (2016-18). And he brought along a work ethic that shows up in his pre-game routine.
“It’s the same thing during the week,” Veach said. “Like, we’re practicing, the guys are showering or eating in the cafeteria, and he’s down there doing extra stretches, extra pass sets. He’s such a good example for these young guys because he’s such a good example of being a pro’s pro.”
There was an adjustment period for Wisniewski in learning the Chiefs’ offensive scheme. But playing for Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, the Chiefs’ former offensive coordinator under Reid, helped with the transition.
“There were a lot of similarities,” Wisniewski said. “Doug calls a lot of things the same thing Andy Reid did. There are differences in kind of how they want things blocked, especially in the run game, so it took me a little while to get that stuff. But I definitely picked it up pretty quickly and just asked a lot of questions with the older guys. I feel like I felt pretty comfortable pretty quickly.”
Equipped with an understanding of the scheme, Wisniewski then had to wait for an opportunity, which presented itself in Week 16 when Wylie was out with the ankle injury. There’s been no looking back.
Bringing the attitude
With Wisniewski in the lineup, the Chiefs have a player who brings an attitude to his craft. The veteran guard prides himself as a punishing run blocker and he won’t back down from mixing it up with defensive players in the trenches.
He embraces the so-called dirty work.
“I just love contact,” he said. “I like to head-butt people in the huddle just to get fired up. Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like that gets me fired up and it gets everybody else fired up.
“I feel like in this game, it’s easy to get kind of sick of hitting people because you do it day after day after day. My opinion is like, you know what? You got to love it if you’re going to do this and do it well. You’ve got to love hitting people.”
Asked if he prefers run-blocking or pass-blocking, the answer should come as no surprise.
“I love run blocking,” Wisniewski said with a grin. “I always say I’d run block for free. You have to pay me to pass-block, but run blocking is fun. It’s just something about moving someone backwards off the ball that brings me a lot of joy.”
Rookie running back Darwin Thompson has seen Wisniewski’s approach on game day and also admires his ability to blow defensive linemen off the line of scrimmage or attack linebackers at the second level.
Thompson couldn’t help but add yet another high compliment to Wisniewski.
“He’s an old-school lineman,” Thompson said. “The ones that you dream of, the ones you see in movies, all in the mud, taped-up fingers and ready to go. That’s Wiz right there, man.”
So Wisniewski has clearly contributed to the Chiefs’ run at a league championship in the past month. But he’s content to fly under the radar as an underrated signing because he knows he’s part of an offensive machine led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
If he’s performing at a high level in unison with the rest of the offensive line, the rest of the pieces fall perfectly into place.
“It’s really our job to make sure Pat has great stats, make sure the running back has great stats, (Travis) Kelce and Tyreek (Hill) have great stats,” Wisniewski said. “We just kind of take enjoyment knowing that we helped them to make plays.”
