At the onset of training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, Kansas City Chiefs rookie LT Kingsley Suamataia revealed that veteran RG Trey Smith had emerged as a strong mentor for him. 

The love and respect go both ways, as Smith referred to Suamataia as "a little brother" following practice on Sunday. What Smith has seen from Suamataia so far can only be described as "great" promise.

"Yeah, I love Kingsley (Suamataia), man," Smith said. "He's like a little brother. You know, he's an extremely talented player and we have great coaches. We have an extremely great front office. I saw a lot of ability in the player, obviously that's why we drafted him and to be a great player."

Smith has a lot to offer a rookie like Suamataia. The second-round draft pick Suamataia has a lot of expectations, potentially earning the starting left tackle job for the Chiefs. Meanwhile, Smith came into Kansas City as a Day 3 draft pick and ended up as a first-year starter with the team. His advice early on in training camp has been simple.

"Yeah, 'just take a rep by rep big dog,'" Smith said of his advice. "You know, it's a lot they throw at you. There's a lot of information, a lot of small details to take in. You know, our playbook can be extremely nuanced at times."

He went on to evoke Chiefs HC Andy Reid when describing Suamataia's progress.

"A Coach Reid quote: 'You can't a whole cheeseburger in one bite. You got to take it one small bite at a time.' And so he's just got to take his time with it'll be there," he said.

There's still work to be done and it's apparent when you watch Suamataia at practice at training camp. He might win a rep and he might lose the next rep, but he's constantly learning what it takes to be great in the NFL. As it turns out, Suamataia isn't the only rookie that Smith has had his eyes on at training camp. 

The Chiefs' interior offensive line of the future is in good hands 

Smith is heading into a contract year alongside his 2021 NFL draft partner at center, Creed Humphrey. The future of the interior offensive line appears to be in good hands with both CJ Hanson and Hunter Nourzad earning praise from the veteran Smith.

"CJ (Hanson) and Hunter (Nourzad) are going to be great pros as well," Smith said. "I love the way they work every single day. And they bring it."

Nourzad certainly has the pedigree, and Hanson has every reason to work to be great.

Smith has all the confidence in the world in the front office's ability to identify and add talent to this team. He's seen it each of the past two years as the team has competed. 

"You know, like I said, the front office has done an excellent job of finding great players and great guys that can add value to our rooms," Smith reiterated. "So they hit home runs with pretty much every crew we've got this year." 

Bonus comments on the Chiefs' backup left guard

It's not just the rookies who could contribute to the future of this offensive line. Third-year Chief Mike Caliendo wrapped his third consecutive padded practice session as the team's starter at left guard. 

"Obviously, I love Mike Caliendo, man," Smith said. "(He's a) veteran player at this point now. Mike does a great job being a consummate professional every single day."

Caliendo could end up filling in for injured Chiefs LG Joe Thuney, who currently remains on the Physically Unable to Perform list. It's unclear if Thuney will be ready to start the 2024 NFL season after suffering a pec injury during the playoffs last year.

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