The Kansas City Chiefs have put in the work ensuring that their offensive line is an area of strength and not a weakness. One of the surprising players to emerge as someone to watch this summer and this season is former UDFA Esa Pole, who has worked hard since joining the Chiefs last year following the draft.
Pole spent time with the Chiefs but then the New York Jets snatched him up. Their biggest mistake, however, was cutting Pole, allowing the Chiefs to bring him back to Kansas City where he now could potentially be vying for a starting job on the o-line.
Andy Reid revealed during his latest press conference that Pole is getting rotational reps with the first-team.
“Esa [Pole], you can tell that he really worked this offseason. He looks strong out there. He’s a smart kid when you really get to know him,” Reid told the media. “He doesn’t have a ton of experience, but he’s a smart kid, and he gets it. So, he’s getting reps in there with the starters and kind of rotating in.”
Esa Pole receiving first-team reps in Chiefs OTAs
If the season began today, the Chiefs’ offensive line would likely consist of Josh Simmons at left tackle, Kingsley Suamataia at left guard, Creed Humphrey at center, Trey Smith at right guard, and Jaylon Moore at right tackle. That means that Pole’s best way to getting into the starting lineup is outperforming Moore and landing that starting right tackle gig.
It’ll be an uphill battle for Pole considering the experience that Moore has at the position but it’s not an impossible task by any means. What’s working in Pole’s favor is that he played well last season, playing 275 snaps at left tackle and finishing the year with a 56.5 overall grade from PFF.
Considering that Moore is slated to hit free agency after the season is over, it wouldn’t be crazy for the Chiefs to want to move forward with Pole as their right tackle. He’s cheaper and will be an ERFA next offseason, making it easier to keep Pole in Kansas City.
It’d be pretty great if the Chiefs had their tackle situation figured out long-term. Both Simmons and Pole are entering their second seasons in the NFL and that’d give K.C. control over both of them for several years. It’d be an awesome situation to be in long-term and hopefully, it pans out for them.
But, before thinking too much about that, Pole has to continue to put in the work and officially beat Moore out for the job. At the very worst, he’ll likely enter the season as the Chiefs’ swing tackle, which isn’t a bad spot for him to be in. Not bad for an undrafted free agent at all.
