Not every second-round draft pick finds immediate success in the NFL. That plain fact often obscures a player’s initial evaluation in our society of instant gratification and immediate validation. Some are drafted with an eye for the future more than heavy usage in the present.
That’s the basis for our series focusing on the 2024 second-rounders who didn’t get a chance to do a lot as rookies, for a variety of reasons. So far, we’ve covered:
Cowboys EDGE Marshawn Kneeland
Cardinals CB Max Melton
Next up is Chiefs offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia, the No. 63 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Kansas City selected Suamataia out of BYU as a potential starting offensive tackle, the role he played for the Cougars.
At 6-5 and 325 pounds, with a thick build and powerful hands, Suamataia was regarded as a potential first-rounder in early 2024 mock drafts before some struggles in his second and final season at BYU dropped him down draft boards to the bottom of the second. The issues in handling quickness on the perimeter and playing too tall and rigid, which facilitated Suamataia’s fall, were immediately validated in his rookie season.
Suamataia earned the starting left tackle job in Kansas City, but the Chiefs pulled the plug after a disastrous Week 2 outing against the Bengals. A later shot at redemption against Denver proved even worse; Suamataia allowed seven QB pressures and a sack on 36 dropbacks in that Week 10 outing.
That experience forced the Chiefs to switch Suamataia inside to guard. In a brief late-season audition at left guard, the physically imposing lineman performed better in the rematch against Denver. The Chiefs saw enough to make the move to guard a permanent one, at least to start 2025.
Suamataia enters the offseason as the projected starting left guard in Kansas City. His lack of recovery quickness and overall flexibility in space is mitigated inside, and the power and pulling ability look like they could make Suamataia a much better guard. He’ll compete with Mike Caliendo to fill the considerable shoes left behind with All-Pro Joe Thuney’s offseason departure (he’s now in Chicago). Caliendo started at LG down the stretch and in the postseason, but he did little to engender confidence that he’s the long-term solution. Suamataia gets the opportunity to prove he can be that guy in his second season.
#outlook #Chiefs #secondyear
