Pro Football Focus names Chiefs’ most ‘underrated’ player

Football analytics website Pro Football Focus named the most underrated player for all 32 NFL teams on Wednesday. When it came to the Kansas City Chiefs, the site went with starting right tackle Mitch Schwartz.

Here is the writeup from PFF author Ben Linsey:

LINSEY: Schwartz is another name in the category of, “This guy should definitely have a Pro Bowl appearance.” He has graded at 72.0 or higher overall in each of his eight NFL seasons, and he’s coming off a career year in 2019 where his 89.3 overall grade ranked second at the tackle position to only Ryan Ramczyk. The fact that Schwartz allowed just one pressure (a hurry, at that) in 134 pass-blocking snaps during the Chiefs’ postseason run is hard to overstate. That’s impressive, impressive stuff. Maybe 2020 will finally be the year Schwartz receives that ever-elusive Pro Bowl recognition.

The PFF nod comes just a week after Schwartz was named the 41st-best player in the league by CBS Sports, so perhaps the tide is turning for the right tackle when it comes to the league-wide notoriety it takes to be voted to the Pro Bowl. His recent Instagram cooking takeover on NFL’s The Checkdown probably did not hurt, either.

As PFF notes, Schwartz did not allow a sack in Kansas City’s postseason run that led to a Super Bowl title.

“We have a ton of respect for him here and all that he does,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said of Schwartz in early February. “That’s what’s made him so good with his stop here in Kansas City. He’s a big part of this thing and why we’ve had success. It doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s just how he’s wired. He’s a brilliant guy and loves to play the game.”

The 30-year-old is one of the best in the league at his position, and the Chiefs have him under control through 2021 after signing him to a contract extension last summer. Schwartz has started every game of his eight-year career dating back to his time with the Cleveland Browns. He played 7,894 consecutive snaps before missing a few plays against the Tennessee Titans in November.

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