Roster building and tough choices; The Chiefs and Trey Smith reset the guard market
Looking at the star guard's extension through the lens of the choices Brett Veach and Andy Reid have made this offseason.
It’s sometimes interesting to take a step back and look at roster construction from a few thousand feet in the air.
Especially when one makes NFL history with a new contract.
This was always how the contract negotiations were going to go between Smith and Kansas City; A market-resetting deal that is a full $3 million per year more than the next-highest RG and $2.5 million more per year than the next highest LG. The die was cast long before this moment given their other choices along the line this offseason.
The great news is that a talented, high-level, homegrown player who is beloved in the locker room and sets a physical tone on the field has been locked in. The good news is that any sort of fear of a long-term issue with Smith on the franchise tag distracting him or anyone else this season is gone. It’s always a good thing to have good players, and Smith is an excellent, young player who is an absolute blast to watch play and to analyze. Controlled violence is his forte, and that’s always a lot of fun.
What I want to write about today, though, is that the Chiefs have now finalized a choice they made earlier this offseason, and one that will be worth keeping an eye on in the years to come. And that decision comes in the form of how to construct their roster in this next step of the Patrick Mahomes era.
The Chiefs, one should remember, had a few different options heading into this offseason. A few different doors to choose between, as it were. Let’s talk a little background.
It was always a given that Kingsley Suamataia was going to be moved to guard (and in fact, that happened midway through last season). That came alongside the fact that given the salary cap situation Kansas City have elsewhere (the cap is VERY malleable but does provide some limitations when you’re contending every year), Brett Veach and Andy Reid had a tough choice to make with their interior offensive line. Largely, that they couldn’t really keep it intact.
(I know, I know, there’s an argument to be made that they could have chosen to keep it intact by not paying Nick Bolton the amount of money they chose to pay him, but given his role in Spags’ defense and the fact that it’s money allocated to the other side of the ball, that’s largely a non-starter for me. So here, we’re sticking to the choices on the offensive line)
Since 2021, the trio of Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, and Smith has been one of the very best in the league (I’d argue it has been THE best in the league from 2022 through 2024, but I digress). They dominated a Super Bowl and have provided consistently excellent play as both pass protectors and run blockers.
The interior OL being such a big strength has played a major role in the the Chiefs going back-to-back and getting closer to a threepeat than any team in history. But of course, in a league with a hard cap (even with the mechanisms to manipulate it), keeping three very high-level interior offensive linemen was always going to be problematic once Humphrey and Smith came off their rookie deals.
Creed has already been paid a top-of-market deal, which makes sense for several reasons. First, he’s arguably the very best center in the league. Second, center salaries are markedly lower than either guard position, with Creed’s 18-mil-per-season being an amount that wouldn’t even crack the top 5 at guard (it would be 8th, if you were curious. A top 3 player at a position of importance for a relatively cheap price? That decision was an easy one, which is why the Chiefs made it a year ago.
That left them with a decision to make regarding Thuney and Smith, as Thuney’s contract came to its final year in 2025 and Smith reached the end of his cheap rookie deal (as a 6th round draft pick, his contract was pennies in NFL terms). Thuney has been the superior player during their tenures with the Chiefs, one of the best 3 pass-blocking guards in the entire league while also being a solid run blocker.
With Smith, it’s a bit flipped, with him being one of the best 3 run-blocking guards in the entire league while also being a solid pass blocker. He’s also a tone-setter in both capacities, being a player who is able (and willing) to flatten opposing defenders.
I’ve shown this clip before, but it never fails to make me laugh the way Smith is able to just absolutely manhandle a defensive end (AJ Epenesa, who weighs in at over 260 pounds), literally launching him to the point that he’s horizontal and both feet are off the ground. It’s glorious.
Smith then dives after him, undoubtedly screaming “FINISH” to himself in his head. It’s a blast to watch. And it adds a lot of value to the run game and overall attitude of the team. There’s a reason Travis Kelce calls Smith “the enforcer.” That’s his role in the run game (and at times as a pass protector, as he’s always looking for work and at times will positively flatten guys who aren’t keeping their head on a swivel), and it’s important.
However, when considering Smith and Thuney, it’s not QUITE as simple as saying the two players “even out” in analysis given they each have one elite facet and one good facet to their games. As I wrote about when discussing the issues surrounding extending Smith, the reality is that pass blocking is more valuable than run blocking in the modern NFL. This is especially true when your team has Patrick Mahomes and is currently rebuilding the left tackle spot.
Smith, while a competent pass protector, has never been an elite one in terms of consistency. Thuney is. And that’s an important distinction. The other important distinction between the two is that of age. Thuney is 32 years old (and in theory has only a few years of elite play left), while Smith is 26 (and in theory is still an ascending player).
That background brings us back to the choice Veach and Reid needed to make this offseason (and have now made), and the long-term implications of that choice.