Chiefs receive mixed grades for their deal with offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor
The Chiefs are not following their blueprint from their last Super Bowl championship.
After winning Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs brought nearly every player back the following season. But after beating the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII last month, the Chiefs have let their two offensive tackles test free agency.
Right tackle Andrew Wylie is going to sign with the Washington Commanders and left tackle Orlando Brown remains a free agent.
The Chiefs on Monday reportedly found a new tackle: Jacksonville’s Jawaan Taylor. He’s played right tackle, but indications are the Chiefs may move him to left tackle.
A number of NFL writers are assigning letter grades to each major signing during free agency. The Taylor signing received mixed grades from those pundits.
A B-plus grade was given to the Chiefs by the Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer.
He wrote: “The Chiefs have their replacement for Orlando Brown Jr. as they will flip Taylor from right tackle to left tackle to protect Patrick Mahomes. It’s interesting how they wanted to splurge on him in a position change vs. bringing back Brown.”
The Chiefs received a C from Dan Pizzuta of Sharp Football Analysis.
This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “(T)his is a bit of a projection for Taylor to slide back over at left tackle in a division with better pass rushers than he routinely saw in the AFC South. Considering Taylor a left tackle, his $20 million average would put him behind only Trent Williams, David Bahktiari, and Laremy Tunsil. That’s a near top-of-the-market contract. It helps that Taylor won’t turn 26 years old until November but this still leaves the Chiefs with an unknown quantity at left tackle and a hole to fill on the right side.”
The Chiefs got an A from the Athletic’s Mike Jones.
Here is part of what Jones wrote: “Kansas City continues to invest in Patrick Mahomes’ line. The decision to let Andrew Wylie walk makes sense now. Taylor was viewed as one of the best on the market. If they can retain Orlando Brown Jr., the Chiefs will have an impressive set of bookends.”
The Chiefs received a B-plus for fit/need from Pro Football Focus and a B for value of the Taylor deal.
This is a snippet from the story: “Taylor has become one of the better pass protectors on the right side across the NFL, ranking top fifteen in pass-blocking grade (76.7) and pressure rate allowed (5.2%) among tackles on true pass sets in 2022. Taylor is expected to play left tackle for Kansas City, which is interesting because he does not have much experience on the blind side even dating back to his college days at Florida.”
The Chiefs got a C-minus from Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport.
Here is part of what he wrote: “Paying $20 million per season to a young tackle who will have to change positions is a lot to ask, especially when that young tackle was abysmal as a run blocker last season.”
A B-plus was the grade from Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame.
This is from his story: “For Taylor, it’s an enormous contract, which ranks fourth among left tackles in overall and annual value behind only Trent Williams, David Bakhtiari and Laremy Tunsil. The guaranteed portion is second only to Bakhtiari as well. Taylor spent his first four seasons with the Jaguars, where he started all 66 possible regular-season games on the right side. However, the 25-year-old has never reached a Pro Bowl despite playing at a very high level in 2022.”
A B was the grade from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.
This is an excerpt from the story: “No matter how talented an offensive tackle may be (and Taylor is a very good player), moving from right to left or vice versa is a transition that takes time. That’s the only hesitation on this deal, and given the success Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck have had overall, we’ll take the positive over here. It’s just a bit of a wonderment in the short term, and that’s a lot of money for a transitional move.”
