Chiefs get to watch 2025 NFL offseason’s original left tackle plan unfold with Jaylon Moore to start in Week 6 vs. Lions
The Chiefs will start their second left tackle in 2025 after starting four players at the position in 2024.
The Kansas City Chiefs will get a look at one of their key offensive free agents acquired in the 2025 NFL offseason on “Sunday Night Football” against the Detroit Lions in Week 6. In some ways, they’re getting a glimpse of an alternate timeline of how their offseason could have unfolded.
The Chiefs officially ruled out rookie Josh Simmons, the team’s starter at left tackle for the first five weeks of the 2025 NFL season, due to a personal matter. During pre-game warmups, OT Jaylon Moore was lining up with the starting offensive line in Simmons’ place (see video via FOX 4 KC’s Harold Kuntz below). Moore is expected to start in place of Simmons on Sunday night, as first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
When the Chiefs signed Moore in free agency, the former San Francisco 49ers backup was projected to be Kansas City’s starter at left tackle because the idea of drafting Simmons was only a pipe dream. Despite never being a full-time starter in the NFL, Moore felt he had proven his ability to be a starting-caliber player at left tackle.
“In my opinion, the tape doesn’t lie,” Moore said during his introductory press conference. “I know it’s a small sample size, but I just go out there and play ball the way I know how. I don’t know, they see something in me, so I’m excited to go balls to the wall for these guys.”
The former fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is listed at 6-foot-4, 311 pounds. He’s appeared in 55 games but started just 12 games with San Francisco. In 2024, he played 259 snaps at left tackle, in place of All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, allowing 10 total pressures and one sack of Brock Purdy.
Chiefs OT Jaylon Moore has the right mentality to get the job done in Week 6
During his time in Kansas City, Moore has taken reps at three different positions. He’s received snaps at left guard, right guard, and right tackle during training camp and the preseason. During the 2025 NFL season, he has played left and right tackle in relief for Josh Simmons and Jawaan Taylor. His experience with the 49ers prepared him for every possibility.
“Especially being a backup with San Francisco,” Moore said during training camp. “I always had to be ready for multiple things. The biggest thing for me is just trying to keep improving, wherever I got to be, that’s where I’m going be.”
Chiefs’ players to start a game at left tackle in 2024:
- Kingsley Suamataia: Two starts
- Wanya Morris: Nine starts (started one game at RT)
- D.J. Humphries: Two starts
- Joe Thuney: Seven starts (incl. playoffs)
In the 20 offensive snaps that Moore has played so far this season, he’s graded out positively with Pro Football Focus, allowing no pressures. It’s a small sample size, but it’s an encouraging sign, especially considering this was a fast-developing situation with Simmons, and the team hadn’t been planning for it during the practice week.
Moore will be tested early and often in Week 6 against the Lions, who have one of the league’s best edge rushers in Aidan Hutchinson.
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