Arrowheadlines: Josh Simmons and Chiefs are perfect fit

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2025 NFL Draft: Top 5 first-round fits including Ashton Jeanty to Raiders and Packers breaking 23-year drought | CBS Sports

31. Chiefs: LT Josh Simmons

The Chiefs have the most crucial need in the NFL right now with their offensive line after seeing Patrick Mahomes run for his life in both of their Super Bowl losses to the Buccaneers in 2020 and Eagles in 2024. He was pressured a career-high 55% of the time in the Super Bowl loss vs. Tampa Bay and sacked a career-high six times in his last game vs. the Eagles. He’s been sacked 4.3 times per game in four career playoff losses and 1.7 times per game in 17 career playoff wins.

The left side of Kansas City’s offensive line is currently manned by Jaylon Moore (free agent signing from San Francisco that backed up Trent Williams last year) and Kingsley Suamataia (two starts as an undrafted rookie last year) after All-Pro Joe Thuney was traded to the Bears. So, do the Chiefs really want to depend on Moore to protect Mahomes’ blindside? Kansas City already cycled through four different starting left tackles last season, tied for most in the NFL with four other teams (Cowboys, Patriots, Browns, Giants) who combined for a 17-51 record last year. This isn’t the formula for Super Bowl success, to say the least.

2025 NFL mock draft: Saints make big move for QB | Chiefs Wire

31. Kansas City Chiefs: Walter Nolen, DL, Ole Miss

Nolen is one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in this draft class, and would give the Chiefs a ton of flexibility with their front four in the years ahead. Paired with sack-master Chris Jones, Nolen’s pass-rushing prowess could help revolutionize Kansas City’s interior and allow the Chiefs to generate more pressure with fewer blitzers. – John Dillon, Chiefs Wire

NFL free-agency 2026 rankings: Micah Parsons, Brock Purdy highlight potential class | The Athletic

15. Trey Smith, G, Kansas City Chiefs (26)

Smith was setting up to be one of the prizes of free agency heading into this offseason. But the Chiefs franchise-tagged him in February. He is slated to make $23.4 million on the tag this year. The Chiefs can negotiate a multiyear extension with him up until July 15, so they have some time. If they do not get a deal done with Smith before the deadline, he would play 2025 on the tag. The Chiefs could then negotiate an extension after the season, or they could tag him again at an increased price. Smith can be a physically dominant player in the run game. He was an attractive piece this offseason and he will be again next offseason if he hits the open market.

Lamar Hunt Championed the Two-Point Conversion | The Mothership

The nation’s colleges had been giving its teams a chance for two-points since the 1950s, and the AFL adopted the two-point rule by a 5-2 vote among the league’s owners when play began in 1960.

Interestingly — and although he’s often been given credit for being an early proponent — Lamar Hunt originally voted against the rule as did his close friend, Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buﬀalo Bills.

The two leagues conducted an experiment on the viability of going for two points shortly after the merger of the NFL and AFL. Utilized only in the preseason games of 1967 and 1969, NFL teams used it five times and the AFL eight. The two leagues still operated as separate entities and would not become one until the start of the 1970 regular season. AFL teams obviously had some history with the rule, and its teams had gone for two points after touchdowns 20 times in 1968 and 1969 when trailing in the fourth quarter, three times while leading and once when tied. No team was so brazen to go for in the first quarter, rarely in the second.

What changed Hunt’s mind on the play is unknown, but early on when he began following football there was, he admitted, some “suspense on extra-points.” As late as the 1940s, Doak Walker, a three-time consensus All-American, only converted 78.1% of his college extra-point attempts, but that was good enough to immediately position him to be the regular kicker when he joined the Detroit Lions.

NFL Mock Draft 2025: Browns, Cowboys, 49ers Make Bold Trades | The 33rd Team

31. Kansas City Chiefs

Selection: Nic Scourton, DL, Texas A&M

It’s time to refresh Kansas City’s aging, expensive core of talent. Nic Scourton fits its mold of versatile talents along the defensive line who can rush the passer without giving up size.

They could even beef him up to be a full-time tackle or lean him out as a full-time edge if they ever want to change schemes.

Why Jon Rahm doesn’t consider himself the Patrick Mahomes of golf — yet | FOX Sports

But then it’s also a bit of the Ricky Bobby slogan: If you’re not first, you’re last.

“When you play [in those pressure moments], you cherish them when you’re done playing,” Rahm said. “Yeah, it’s the most memorable thing. If you’re going to go football-wise, you remember those games that are a one-score game. And you see it go back and forth, right? And you have those AFC Championships between the Chiefs and the Bills. You remember because they all seem to be a one-score game. And you remember the end.”

Win or lose, the close finishes are the ones you never forget.

While we’re on the topic of football, I asked Rahm whether there is a quarterback he likens himself to. He is, after all, the captain of Legion XIII. In many ways, he’s the quarterback, the leader and the most influential member of the team’s success. Rahm toiled with a fair comparison. Why? Well, he kept making clear that it’s all about championships.

2025 NFL Mock Draft: Giants land Travis Hunter, Browns secure a QB with a trade | PFF

31. Kansas City Chiefs: DI Derrick Harmon, Oregon

Despite charting just one year of notable production, Harmon is a high-football-IQ player on the interior with a competitive spark that will allow him to compete at the next level and become a mainstay next to Chris Jones. In his final season at Oregon, Harmon generated a 91.2 PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets while charting an outstanding 17.6% pass-rush win rate (99th percentile).

Around the NFL

Raiders releasing starting CB Jack Jones, sources say | ESPN

The Raiders will save $3.4 million in salary cap space by moving on from Jones.

Jones played in 24 games with the Raiders after the franchise claimed him off waivers in 2023 following his release from the New England Patriots, where he played only one full season.

In 2024, Jones started 16 games and totaled career bests in tackles (69), passes defended (16) and interceptions (3). But Jones gave up 698 yards, 9 touchdowns and a passer rating of 108.9 on 88 targets as the nearest defender.

Geno Smith Explains Why ‘Stars Are All Aligning’ with Raiders | SI

Carroll wanted to help Smith, plain and simple. In explaining that, Smith simply says, “Coach Carroll, man, is a special guy and a special coach.” And one who was there when Smith needed him most.

“It was very frustrating last year, because as a team, we set goals for ourselves, and we didn’t achieve those goals,” he says. “And being a part of the team, being a quarterback, I take that right on my shoulders. And I feel like that’s my responsibility to make sure that stuff happens. And we weren’t able to reach our goals, weren’t able to get to the playoffs. That’s the ultimate goal, to give yourself a chance to go out there and win a championship. And that’s what frustrated me the most.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs Draft: Rutgers’ Kyonte Hamilton could provide late-round value

Player profile

Despite being slightly undersized for the position, Hamilton is a good athlete and has the explosive traits needed to play defensive tackle in the NFL.

At 6’3” and 303 lbs., he is on the smaller side for an interior defender, but his short-area quickness and explosion from a prone position were impressive at his pro day.

A 9’02” broad jump and a 10-yard split of 1.70 on the 40-yard dash showcase his ability to create power out of an athletic position and help paint a picture of his play style in the NFL.

Hamilton’s good testing numbers will draw attention from scouts and coaches, and his film shows a stout, powerful player.