Chiefs 2019 rookie season review: OL Nick Allegretti

Allegretti didn’t see much action as a rookie, but he could be relied upon for more snaps in 2020.

The Kansas City Chiefs added six draft picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and each of those rookies made contributions during the season and postseason. This draft had a mix of offensive and defensive players compared to the 2018 NFL Draft, which was primarily defensive players for the Chiefs. Let’s take a look at Nick Allegretti’s 2019 season and see what we can project for the future.

Illinois OL Nick Allegretti – 216 overall

Stat

2019 totals
Games played 7
Games started 0
Offensive Snaps 8
Special Teams Snaps 41

2019 season review:

The Kansas City Chiefs brought in Nick Allegretti to provide competition and depth along the interior offensive line. He impressed during the offseason and preseason, making the 53-man roster over 2018 sixth-round draft pick Kahlil McKenzie.

“(Nick) Allegretti really came out strong,” Chiefs GM Brett Veach said of his decision.

Allegretti was listed as the backup center to starter Austin Reiter, but played both center and guard during the preseason. Kansas City suffered some early attrition along the offensive line, but Allegretti was still not made active until Week 6 of the regular season. He’d see most of his work throughout the season on special teams. It wasn’t until the Chiefs traveled to Denver in Week 7 that Allegretti saw his first offensive snaps.

2020 season outlook:

If you look at the way that Allegretti was utilized in 2019, it was very similar to how the Chiefs used center Austin Reiter when Mitch Morse was the starting center in 2018. He’d come in as an extra blocker in certain heavy formations and he made the most of his opportunities. Below he gets a pancake block:

It’s moments like this that had the Chiefs comfortable moving on from Mitch Morse in favor of Reiter. This type of play certainly warrants more playing time for Allegretti. We’d still need to see more from him in pass protection, though. Confidence in Allegretti could allow the front office to move on from a player that is a cut candidate (Laurent Duvernay-Tardif) or scheduled to become a free agent (Andrew Wylie, Stefen Wisniewski).

Ultimately, Allegretti’s opportunity will depend on which players remain in front of him on the depth chart and how well he improves during his second offseason as a professional. His floor remains a versatile backup on the interior and his ceiling a standout starter in just his second year in the NFL. Not bad for a seventh-round draft pick.

Chiefs 2019 rookie season reviews:

WR Mecole Hardman (Coming soon)

DB Juan Thornhill (Coming soon)

DT Khalen Saunders (Coming soon)

CB Rashad Fenton (Coming soon)

RB Darwin Thompson (Coming soon)