Chiefs legend weighs in on the harsh reality of rookie LT Kingsley Suamataia's struggles
The Kansas City Chiefs encountered a problem in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals, that maybe wasn't as big of an issue in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens. Now, don't get it wrong, it was still an issue, but it's come to light more recently. On Sunday Night Football this week against the Atlanta […]
The Kansas City Chiefs encountered a problem in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals, that maybe wasn't as big of an issue in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens. Now, don't get it wrong, it was still an issue, but it's come to light more recently. On Sunday Night Football this week against the Atlanta Falcons, we could see a change being made because of it.
The Chiefs took Kingsley Suamataia, the left tackle from BYU, in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. They needed a left tackle, or they would be forced to either start Wanya Morris there, who played guard in college two years prior and struggled at tackle last season. Or they would have to bring back Donovan Smith from last season, who had his own struggles.
Suamataia won the left tackle battle in training camp, pretty much unanimously, and showed promise in a few areas, specifically his athleticism and ability to get upfield if needed. In Week 1 against the Ravens, he allowed just one pressure, but the Ravens' pass rush as a whole didn't see near the success they maybe thought they would have.
In Week 2, it was bad. At one point, sometime in the fourth quarter, it appeared that Suamataia was playing so badly that he got benched, as Wanya Morris came in and played what felt like the rest of the game besides a few snaps. Suamataia was beaten up by Trey Hendrickson all night long, as he gave up four of the five total pressures on the day to Hendrickson alone.
A few of the plays, mainly one that comes to mind with Hendrickson just getting a fast get-off, were plays that resulted in the way they did because Hendrickson is just that good. Let's not forget, this is a dude that had 17.5 sacks last season. Suamataia was so bad that one Chiefs legend is thinking the team should bench him for their primetime game against the Atlanta Falcons.
"His hands are way low so when he gets out there, there slow, he has to adjust his hands and he's missing his set and punch," Tim Grunhard said on a radio show. "90% of his issues are punch related. You just don't see that in his pass protection. The funny thing is you see it in the run game. He's oversetting everything because he's afraid to get beat inside. And, it will only get harder. Hendrickson (Bengals DE). Suamataia was flustered by that. I think he needs to take a deep breath and focus more on his fundamentals. What do you do with a young baseball player when they are struggling? You send them to Triple-A and get that stuff fixed. Unfortunately, they don't do that in the NFL.
"Nope, absolutely not. I think Wanya Morris will be out there (against the Atlanta Falcons). You don't want this guy to lose his confidence. This isn't the first rookie to ever get benched. I got pulled in the middle of a series, I was getting beat so badly. But the reality is, every young guy is going to go through it. You can't lose your confidence."
Starting Morris this week could also hurt Suamataia's confidence. You just don't know how a young player will act or react, because every player is different. If they did do that, who knows, maybe it would only make Suamataia get better even more than he already wants to. But Grunhard is right about one thing, it will only get harder.
Can you imagine what he will do against a guy like Maxx Crosby? Whatever the Chiefs do, it has to work, and he has to be the left tackle of the future for this team, that is, unless they want to try Jawaan Taylor on the left side and Suamataia on the right. But, I doubt they do that.
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes gives the ultimate praise to Raiders’ Maxx Crosby
The Chiefs beat the Raiders on Sunday.
