The NFL season kicks off in two weeks, and the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up the preseason on Friday night. Final moves to trim rosters from 90 players down to 53 are due at 5:00 p.m. Arrowhead time on Sunday, August 30th.
Late last week, the Chiefs traded for offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu from the New York Giants in exchange for a 2028 7th-round pick. Ezeudu was present on the sideline Friday night in Kansas City, but did not dress.
Saturday afternoon, the Chiefs struck another deal to acquire offensive
tackle Diego Pounds from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a 2028 conditional sixth-round pick.
Both moves come at an interesting time: the Chiefs have been looking to bulk up the depth of their offensive line, and Josh Simmons is seeking additional opinions on a back injury that has sidelined him in camp for close to two weeks.
Multiple factors may be at play in these trades, but let’s take a look at Ezeudu and Pounds to figure out what they can bring to Kansas City.
Joshua Ezeudu
A former top-100 selection, Ezeudu has started ten games through his career at guard and tackle.
During the preseason, Ezeudu played the first week fully at tackle, but in the second week he slid inside to guard, which may be a more natural fit for him.
At 6 feet 4 inches tall and 310 pounds, he is a bit undersized as a traditional guard, but his quickness off the snap and leverage help him to win by beating defenders before they can get a chance to get going.
At tackle, he struggled to anchor when edge rushers would line up wide and go from speed to power. At guard, he can use quick sets to take away the defenders’ build-up, and this plays much better to his strengths.
Although he did not live up to his draft status in New York, the Chiefs needed a player with live NFL experience at both tackle and guard.
Diego Pounds
An undrafted free agent, Pounds was a natural fit for Baltimore out of Ole Miss. At 6 feet 6 inches tall and 330 pounds, with solid athletic ability, he had the frame to develop into a road-grading run blocker and had the size and strength to excel as a jump setter in the passing game that Baltimore has historically used in their scheme.
Despite his physical gifts, he was listed as a third stringer on the Ravens depth chart for most of camp and the preseason.
Pounds was solid in the preseason, but stuck in a deep unit, which would have made him a bubble candidate to make the Ravens’ roster.
While his game needs work overall, he has natural mechanics in pass protection and a bulldog mentality that were bound to ensure that he would find an active roster spot- whether it was with Baltimore or not.
It appears that the Chiefs were watching from afar, and, as they have many times in the past, the team is betting on a large man who can move in space.
Pounds has traits that cannot be taught, and his overall game is further along than many undrafted players at the same position.
Why make the moves?
Listed as day-to-day, starting left tackle Josh Simmons’ current status is unclear, as he missed the second half of the preseason with a back injury. Speculation has swirled about the extent of his injury, and now the big question is whether the Chiefs made these moves expecting him to miss more time than they initially thought.
There is no clear answer, but in short: yes, and no.
If Simmons has to miss significant time, the Chiefs are in trouble. Adding as much depth as possible to prepare for the worst-case scenario could be in the cards, but it could also be an attempt to add overall depth to the roster.
A week ago, the trio of Jaylon Moore, Kahlil Benson, and Esa Pole struggled greatly against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ edge rushers. While they rebounded this week, the struggles against starting-caliber players for Tampa could have raised concerns.
It could also say something about the Chiefs’ depth on the interior offensive line.
The Chiefs have lacked quality interior depth since Nick Allegretti departed for free agency after the 2023 season, and Mike Caliendo has filled in with mixed results over the past few seasons. The team has tried to let Hunter Nourzad take the reins, but it has not worked out. Benson took first-team snaps at right guard when Trey Smith missed time earlier in the preseason, and undrafted rookie Pete Nygra has also filled in with the second team.
Ezeudu will inject an immediate dose of interior experience and can slide to tackle as needed. Pounds only played left tackle at Ole Miss, and has only played tackle so far in the NFL, but with his frame and strength, he could be a prime candidate for the Chiefs to eventually work into guard.
The bottom line
The Chiefs brass has clearly not been satisfied with the quality of depth on the offensive line, and the front office has now made moves to ensure the offense has enough bodies to either prepare to be without their left tackle for some time or solidify the swing tackle and interior offensive line spots.
The room has suddenly gotten much more crowded with the roster cutdown deadline drawing near. This has likely dashed some players’ hopes of making the roster and placed some players who might have been “safe” on the bubble.
Ezeudu and Pounds will need to be brought up to speed quickly, but it seems they will both be a part of the plans for 2026.
