The Kansas City Chiefs open training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph later this month with most of the roster settled and one job conspicuously open. Right tackle is the defining competition of this camp, and it exists because Kansas City moved on from Jawaan Taylor, releasing the tackle it signed to a four-year, $80 million deal in 2023 and clearing roughly $20 million in cap space in the process.
By every indication, the job is Jaylon Moore‘s to lose. Moore was brought in to start, and the staff has lined him up as the presumptive replacement, with Esa Pole and undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson in the mix behind him. It is less an open audition than a favorite defending a lead, but reps in pads have a way of complicating tidy depth charts.
The detail that raises the stakes: Patrick Mahomes is working back from the knee injury that ended his December, and a quarterback returning from a torn ACL and LCL needs a pocket that holds on the front side. Taylor’s penalties and injuries made him a liability Kansas City decided it could no longer carry, but replacing a flawed starter with an unproven one is its own risk. The line in front of Mahomes has been remade before, and it did not always take on the first try.
What to watch when the pads come on is simple. Moore against Kansas City’s own edge rushers in team drills will reveal more than any depth chart, and the Chiefs will want the question answered early. The full squad is due on the field for the first open practice on July 29.
