I was going through some of John Dorsey's quotes when he spoke with us a few weeks ago and this one on the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line stood out:
"Right now, I feel good with the depth that we have on the offensive line," Dorsey said. "What Andy has always said and I've always said, we're going to find the best five guys and I think we have the nucleus of a really good offensive line coming through."
Last year's line was actually pretty deep and so is this year's. That sounds odd to say because the Chiefs line was average at best but they were deep, as in average from top to bottom. The difference between the Chiefs second best lineman and their seventh best lineman wasn't much. Deep in that sense.
The Chiefs have two starting tackle (Eric Fisher, Mitch Schwartz) and a starting center (Mitch Morse). We're not debating those positions (unless you want to get in on a little Morse-to-guard-and-Fulton-to-center action).
The Chiefs guard position shows their depth: Jah Reid, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Zach Fulton, Paul Fanaika. Honestly, I don't see a big difference between any of those players. They're not Pro Bowlers, no. They are competent guards (we think) and not many teams can say they have seven or eight linemen they don't have a problem playing.
The guard position though, I'm not sure what to make of it. The Chiefs have enough players at the position that I don't think it's a draftable position unless you're picking someone who will easily beat out these others. And I'm not sure you find that player unless you're picking one on day one or two and the Chiefs shouldn't do that.
Here's how I would rank the Chiefs guards right now:
1. Jah Reid: Nobody seems to be mentioning him when doing their Chiefs o-line previews but John Dorsey did. I really do think he could be a guard option as he did well in very limited time near the end of the season last year. The Chiefs also gave him a three-year extension.
2. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif: MNChiefsfan reviewed his 2015 tape recently and it wasn't awful but certainly not great. Lot of room for improvement. Is he a starter? Can he beat out two others on this list?
3. Zach Fulton: Former 16-game starter who seems to have carved out a role as a backup center and guard. You need players like that. Not sure he's in the starting conversation.
4. Paul Fanaika: Unknown with an injury last year but will likely get a shot after signing a three-year deal. It would be huge if he could end up starting or at least contributing. He is at No. 4 just because I have no idea. Could easily be No. 1.
There are other guards - Jarrod Pughsley can play some guard, Michael Liedtke is buried on the roster. However, those four listed above are the Chiefs primary competition at guard.
Do the Chiefs need to add another guard? Let these players duke it out for two spots and keep the others for depth? They probably need to add someone but nothing that uses significant resources. Add as many players in there as you can and let the cream rise to the top.