Intriguing training camp developments could take Chiefs' offensive line depth to the next level

The Kansas City Chiefs are still very much trying to find the right combination of offensive linemen for the 2024 NFL season.

With the left tackle position unsettled and starting LG Joe Thuney still on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list , it has allowed for a healthy rotation of players with the starting unit at training camp. The team isn't just rotating players in and out of practice, but they're trying to find the best position for each of those players, too.

“Yeah, so you know how (Offensive Line Coach) Andy Heck does it," Reid told reporters after practice on Tuesday. "I mean, he mixes everybody in, and we did a little bit of that in the OTAs and we ask the guys – listen, we’re just going to play the five best, it doesn’t really matter what position, so we’re going to give you a chance at all of them. This is a good time to do that, during this ramp-up period, so when they’re not in pads just get them familiar with those areas.”

As far as the competition is concerned, Chiefs HC Andy Reid doesn't have any deadlines for his starting and second-string units to be decided. If one player starts to separate themselves and earn repetitions at a greater rate, that'll just be how the cookie crumbles.

“I mean, we’ll just see how it goes," Reid said. "You obviously want to get the guys reps in there and all that, but you also want to make sure you get the best guy in there, so you give them a chance to play with one another. As far as the guards and the tackles go, you see what the best match is there and how they fit together.”

What will be the most telling is how the offensive line shakes out when the pads come on for the first time this Friday. The intensity will kick up in practice and the coaching staff will get a chance to look at the run game under a more valuable lens for the first time.

“A lot of things ramp up there, but yeah that’s one of them," Reid told salty veteran Chiefs beat writer Herbie Teope. "Once you mix the pass and the run in, that’s what you’ve got to get going here. We don’t – the run is curved down to where it's almost just (run) fits, so it’s not quite the same.”

Mike Caliendo got the first crack at left guard with Joe Thuney still out

It shouldn't come as a major surprise that when the team rolled out for their first practice on Sunday, Mike Caliendo was the first man up at the starting left guard position. He's the veteran backup interior offensive lineman in the room, entering his third season with the team in 2024 .

Caliendo originally signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan in 2022. He spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad, but he made the 53-man roster in 2023. He appeared in the first eight regular-season games of the 2023 NFL season. He also appeared in all four of the team's playoff games last year as one of the primary backups on the interior offensive line.

Caliendo also has played some second-team center during camp.

Lucas Niang shifts inside with the starting offensive line on Tuesday

A major development this offseason is that Niang isn't just playing offensive tackle, which has been his home for the past four seasons. He shifted inside to play on the interior offensive line as a starter at left guard on Tuesday — and he looked like a natural doing it. Could Niang be the one to slot in for Thuney as he recovers from injury while also playing a backup tackle role? That'd make him that much more valuable to the coaching staff in Kansas City.

Niang has appeared in just 33 games since entering the league in 2020 as a third-round draft pick out of TCU. He opted out his rookie season and the following year he started nine games at right tackle for the Chiefs before suffering a devastating knee injury in Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season. He's since appeared in mostly a depth capacity with just 65 offensive snaps in the past two seasons.

During Wednesday's practice, Niang also got some run with the starters at the right tackle position (more on that below).

Hunter Nourzad gets his shot with the starters on Wednesday

Rookie OL Hunter Nourzad is already getting a crack with starting rotation during practice. It should come as no surprise given the core value system instilled in him during his time at Penn State . The rookie had previously taken some second-team repetitions at both guard spots, but on Wednesday, he got his chance to fill in for Joe Thuney at left guard alongside Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith on the inside.

Nourzad played center for the Nittany Lions last season, but he's on record saying he's not playing any singular position and will align wherever the team might need him. That's the type of attitude that helps you see the field early as a rookie.

Offensive tackle rotations continue with great frequency

There is still a lot to be settled at offensive tackle position before the pads come on Friday. . .

During Tuesday's practice, Wanya Morris got the vast majority of first-team repetitions at left tackle opposite Jawaan Taylor on the right side. The day beforehand, there was a consistent rotation between Wanya Morris and Jawaan Taylor as bookends with rookie Kingsley Suamatia at left tackle and second-year OT Jason "Chu" Godrick on the right side.

As things got underway on Wednesday, Lucas Niang slotted in for some right tackle with Morris and Suamataia rotated in on the left side. Up to this point, Niang has mostly worked with the second team at the right tackle position opposite rookie OT Ethan Driskell at left tackle.

This is all to say that the Chiefs have a lot of tackle options that they're currently working through as they try to find the right combination of starting offensive linemen. I don't think Jawaan Taylor is at any risk of losing his starting job, but, notably, they're getting other guys some work at that spot after the type of season Taylor had in 2023.

Related: Chiefs players welcome the challenge as NFL, NFLPA discuss potential 18-game schedule