Austin Blythe is the latest piece of Chiefs’ O-line overhaul. But how will it all fit?
Austin Blythe strolled into the Chiefs practice facility Monday, the newest piece of a promised offensive line overhaul. And almost immediately, he addressed the yet-to-be-determined consequence of a renovation — chemistry.
Blythe is likely to occupy the middle of the offensive line, to be the new man snapping the football to quarterback Patrick Mahomes. So what better way to start his Chiefs tenure than a conversation with Mahomes within minutes of his arrival in Kansas City?
“He seems like a great guy. I’m excited to work with him,” Blythe said. “As far as the communication and camaraderie goes between the center and the quarterback, I think it’s very important.
“I think the offense goes how that relationship goes.”
It began with a brief chat Monday, with Mahomes rehabbing from offseason toe surgery. It will continue more earnestly on the field in late summer. When it does, Blythe will be just a portion of legitimate questions that will hound this group until they actually play a football game alongside one another.
Have the Chiefs found the right pieces to revamp an offensive line that failed to protect Mahomes in the Super Bowl? And if the answer is in the affirmative, how much time will be required before the right pieces form the right collective unit?
As it stands, the Chiefs will have at least three new starters in the five-man group. Blythe projects as the starting center; Joe Thuney at left guard; and Kyle Long (or perhaps Laurent Duvernay-Tardif) at right guard. On paper, the Chiefs are better on the interior of the line than they were a year ago.
On the outside? Well, TBD. Left tackle remains an obvious question mark and will eventually represent a fourth changeover. That would leave Mike Remmers— should he win the starting right tackle job — as the lone returner.
The degree in which chemistry affects a team’s win-loss record can be debated, but it’s certainly understood that it has at least some impact. And it’s rarely more important than on the offensive line, in which a five-man unit must play in unison.
While fully recognizing that importance, though, Blythe brushed aside the difficulty of putting it together.
“I think it’ll be fine,” Blythe said during an introductory Zoom press conference with local media Monday afternoon. “Continuity and communication and friendship and all that stuff is an important part for playing well together. I don’t foresee any problems.”
One of the reasons? The communication has already begun. In person with Mahomes. On the phone or via text messages with others.
“I’ve gotten in contact with a couple guys already,” Blythe said. “I know I’m just really excited to get to work with everybody here.”
Blythe spent the past four seasons with the Rams, starting at both guard and center. He moved to a full-time role at center in 2020, and that’s the role he projects in Kansas City, replacing Austin Reiter, who snapped the ball to Mahomes the past two seasons with the Chiefs.
Blythe is generally regarded as a more adept run-blocker than pass-blocker, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF graded Blythe as the 11th-best center in football among the 32 who played at least half the snaps there. Reiter was eighth in 2020.
The Chiefs had shown interest in bringing Reiter back but ultimately concluded with Blythe. The interest was mutual. Blythe grew up in Iowa, but he was actually born in Kansas City. He continued to root for the Chiefs after the move, he said.
It made the decision all the easier.
“My mindset is I just wanted to be here and come play for a great organization, a great team and come in and play on (the) offensive line,” Blythe said. “Wherever my piece may fit, that’s what I’m going to do.”