Chiefs added ‘freaky athlete’ this offseason. Could he open up Andy Reid’s playbook?
Skyler Mayne said he just wanted to get a baseline — and ended up speechless instead.
BYU’s director of sports science and innovation knew he had an athletic newcomer entering the program starting with the 2022 season.
Still, Mayne wanted to test offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia, just to see where he stood compared to his peers.
The answer arrived quickly to Mayne’s computer.
Suamataia, after being strapped into a belt and connected to a 1080 Sprint machine, took a few steps, bursting ahead for a 35-yard dash.
The result, according to Mayne’s tracking data: Suamataia had hit 21 miles per hour — the type of level Mayne had never seen from an offensive lineman.
“We just laughed,” Mayne told The Star, “because it honestly didn’t look like he was trying that hard.”
The number bordered on the absurd. Mayne said skill players in a football game “if they’re flying” will hit 22-23 mph. His fastest O-linemen in typical years end up somewhere in the 19s.
“When I think of him, I don’t think of him like, ‘Oh, that’s an O-lineman,’” Mayne said. “I think he’s a big athlete who happens to play O-line.”
For Mayne, the story is a good place to start when discussing Suamataia.
And also what the Kansas City Chiefs’ 326-pound rookie left tackle might bring to an Andy Reid offense — while potentially opening up horizons the Chiefs haven’t previously explored.
BYU tested those limits with Suamataia on the roster. Mayne said one play the Cougars dialed up included a double-pass back to their quarterback; the reason they introduced it to the playbook (and scored a touchdown with it against Baylor) was because they believed Suamataia would get out in space like few others could.
“When he pulls and moves and gets downfield, I mean, that stuff is ... you don’t really teach that,” Mayne said. “That’s just being a great athlete and a great player.”
The Cougars also had some passes to Suamataia in their playbook, though those never got called in a game.
Mayne understood why the team looked into it. He believes if Suamataia decided to change his body type, he easily could play linebacker or another position, calling him a “freaky athlete, for sure.”
“I wouldn’t be shocked if they throw him the ball. Like, he has good ball skills. He has good footwork,” Mayne said. “Knowing Andy and those guys, I don’t know what they’ll come up with, but heck, put him in a fullback position, have him lead block on goal line. He could really do what you need him to do.”
Suamataia, who ranked third last year on Bruce Feldman’s college football Freaks list, often had BYU’s coaches searching for new ways to challenge him. He says on one occasion, instead of going against the offensive linemen, the staff had him race against the team’s tight ends and running backs during a conditioning drill.
“Beat a couple of them,” Suamataia said Sunday in the Chiefs locker room with a laugh. “Just went out there and showed my athleticism.”
Perhaps most impressive for Mayne was that Suamataia’s movements never seemed cumbersome. Specific exercises might take significant effort from many of his BYU teammates, but they always seemed easy for Suamataia.
“I think if you challenged him to a pickup game, and he was playing against NBA guys, he’d hold his own,” Mayne said. “He can move that well.”
It seems the Chiefs are already testing how to best employ this unique skill in their offensive plans.
In the second preseason game against the Lions, for example, KC twice schemed Suamataia to become a run-blocker in the open field while looking to use his speed as a weapon. Afterward, Suamataia said he was most happy to showcase his “flying around the ball.”
Overall, Reid said Sunday that Suamataia had performed well in training camp and the team’s preseason games.
“I’m sure there’ll be some ups and downs as he goes, like any young player has,” Reid said. “But he’s prepared himself, and it’s time to go play now.”
Mayne said he’ll be sure to be watching when the Chiefs play the Ravens on Thursday to kick off the NFL season.
He knows how Suamataia changed BYU’s offense — and also how the coaches thought about the possibilities over the last two years.
The potential is there, at least, for the Chiefs to find their own new frontiers with a big man who moves like Suamataia.
“We could do some pretty cool stuff,” Mayne said, “knowing that he can keep up with those (other) athletes.”
