Following Laurent Duvernay-Tardif’s decision to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs will now have two vacancies to fill at guard on the offensive line.
The first reaction for fans following Duvernay-Tardif’s announcement was to look toward the Chiefs’ 2020 draft class. Kansas City selected TCU OT Lucas Niang in the third round of the draft. While his experience at college came playing right tackle, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said that he’d have an opportunity to come in and compete at guard right away. When Andy Reid spoke to the media on Saturday, he wouldn’t commit to Niang being the solution at right or left guard. He did, however, offer a hint at who might fill in for Dr. Duvernay-Tardif.
“Well, let’s get him in here first,” Reid said. “I mean let’s get him in practicing, get him adjusted and see how he does. (Mike) Remmers is another one that we picked up who is a good football player. We’ve got good players here, right now, so we’re going to be OK at the offensive line. And obviously, to add [Lucas Niang] into the mix—we’re excited. And we’ve had a chance to meet them, the rookies, so yeah, we’re excited about that. I think we’re in good shape all around. Would we love to have Larry? Absolutely, but it’s his cause. We absolutely understand that too.”
The rookies haven’t been part of a normal offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the coaching staff is still getting to know these players and where they are in terms of their football ability. Niang could be ready to play like an All-Pro, but Reid won’t know that until he gets him on the football field and practicing at training camp.
Reid instead mentioned free agent signing Mike Remmers as another option to fill in at the right guard position. Remmers played right tackle for the New York Giants in 2019, but the season prior he started all 16 games at right guard for the Minnesota Vikings. In total, Remmers has 1,123 career snaps at the right guard position during the course of his career. His experience and veteran savvy could make him the perfect option to replace Duvernay-Tardif at right guard.
On Saturday, the Chiefs brought free-agent guard Kelechi Osemele into the fold. Naturally, many believed that Osemele would be the one to fill in for Duvernay-Tardif. If you look at his career, he’s almost always played the left guard position. Look for him to compete and perhaps lock down the starting job on the left side.
As Reid said, the Chiefs have good players and a variety to choose from. They have veteran options, who’ve been on the roster for at least one season such as Andrew Wylie, Martinas Rankin, Nick Allegretti and Ryan Hunter. They have several undrafted free agents added in 2020 such as Yasir Durant, Jovahn Fair and Darryl Williams.
One thing is for certain, the competition at the left and right guard spots will only make all of these players on the roster better for the 2020 season.
[vertical-gallery id=73053]