At the apex of the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason storylines is the rebuilt offensive line — a unit that will see their first snaps together in Saturday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The coaching staff and star players on the team have many things they’re looking to get out of the preseason as it relates to the offensive line. Patrick Mahomes wants to get out there and fire on all cylinders right away, knowing that he’ll have just one quarter to play in the inaugural preseason game.
“I think just going out there and executing, in and out of the huddle, making the right calls, getting the ball out of my hands, making some plays happen,” Mahomes told reporters of preseason Week 1 on Thursday. “You always like to score, but at the end of the day I think if the communication, the procedures in and out of the huddle with so many new guys especially on that offensive line, I think that would be a win for me just throughout this first game.”
Communication wasn’t just a big point of emphasis for Mahomes. It was also mentioned by Chiefs HC Andy Reid as it relates to the offensive line. He wants to see the offensive line group take what they’ve built together at training camp into the upcoming game.
“That continuity, communication,” Reid explained. “Working together through different looks, you know, functioning.”
Reid wants to see the unit continue to jell and communicate at a high level against a dominant defensive front.
Mahomes is still getting a feel for his new offensive line. He’s playing behind five new starting linemen and they all have different nuances in the ways they like to protect the quarterback.
“Just communicating with the offensive line on like how they protect,” Mahomes said. “Orlando (Brown) is great about it and talking about different things that he is trying and seeing how I like them. Trying to build that relationship, build that kind of comfort with them.”
Brown and the other offensive linemen are also trying to get a feel for Mahomes and how he likes to be protected. After playing with quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield, Brown has to retool his strategies a bit for protecting Mahomes as best he can.
“He’s played with great quarterbacks in his lifetime and we’re all a little bit different,” Mahomes said of Brown. “He’s trying to get a good feel. He’ll try something one day and ask if I liked it, and I’ll tell him the truth and he wants to hear that so he can know how I’m feeling throughout the game.”
Mahomes has also challenged himself this offseason after Super Bowl LV, placing an emphasis on working in the pocket and not scrambling as frequently. Building trust with the offensive line throughout the preseason will be key to that goal.
“For me, I’ll always try to stay within the pocket especially during training camp,” Mahomes said. “I always feel like I can scramble, and that stuff can happen. We work on it, what can happen throughout a game, but working within the pocket, going through the reads and seeing how the play is working.”
At the end of the day, Mahomes hopes the 49ers will prove to be a good test for his offense and his new offensive line. It’ll let them know how far they’ve come and how far they still need to go in order to compete at the highest level next season.
“Yeah, for sure, especially going against a defense like the one we’re going to be going up against,” Mahomes said. “The 49ers have a great defense. A lot of great pass rushers, a lot of great guys that are still from that Super Bowl team. So, it will be a great challenge for us, and we’re excited to go out there and play against a defense of that caliber.”
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