The Kansas City Chiefs’ frustrating 1-2 start has once again put a spotlight on a problem that has been years in the making — and has been hard for the team to shake.
Since joining the Chiefs as an unrestricted
free agent in 2023, right tackle Jawaan Taylor has been a magnet for penalties. After drawing 30 flags over his first two seasons in Kansas City, Taylor already has a league-leading six penalties in 2025. In a year that the Chiefs’ offense can’t seem to find its rhythm, Taylor’s errors frequently seem to thwart its momentum. A play from the second quarter of Sunday’s 22-9 win over the New York Giants provides an example.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had converted a third-and-12 with a 14-yard scramble, only to have the play called back by an illegal formation flag on Taylor. So rather than having a first down at the New York 21-yard line, Kansas City had to settle for Harrison Butker’s 48-yard field goal.
Two weeks ago, the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Matt Nagy signaled that the team’s patience for Taylor’s mistakes was running out. Before Thursday’s practice, offensive line coach Andy Heck also chimed in.
“Without question,” began Heck, “he’s a talented pass protector. But as he knows, as we know — as everybody in the world knows — penalties are [the team] going backwards. That’s not good for the football team.
“The only guy [who] could fix that is him.”
Heck acknowledged that Taylor has been aware of the issue.
“I’ve seen him make a conscious effort to work on that,” he noted, “and we need him to do it. The bottom line is he’s got to do that.“
By default, Heck is sympathetic to Taylor being on the officials’ radar. He also revealed, though, that officials sometimes issue Taylor warnings about his alignment before games even begin.
“They watch tape,” said Heck, “and [it’s], ‘Here’s the alerts on this outfit. We’re going to watch out for this and that.’
“Without question, they’ll come over and say ‘Hey, you’re going to have to move up on the ball for me’ — even before the game starts.”
Still, Heck wanted to make it clear that Taylor’s habits aren’t unique about where he lines up; many of his offensive tackle peers do the same thing.
“We track that on a daily basis,” said the coach. “We track that week-to-week. [Pro Football Focus] tracks that. You can see that there are upwards of 20 tackles that line up as deep — or deeper — than him.
“Now, when he’s getting called, those are good calls: he’s too deep. [The rules say] your helmet’s got to break the plane.”
There’s a reason that Taylor deliberately pushes the envelope as far as he can: it gives him an advantage at the snap.
“One of the things Jawaan takes a lot of pride in is [that] he’s going to give himself every advantage that he can,” explained Heck. “He’s going to be on that snap count.
“[But] what we’re telling him is, ‘Hey, that’s not necessarily an advantage every time. In fact, it can get you in trouble if you’re too quick [or] you’re too deep. That’s creating too much space.’”
Taylor’s issues are fueling speculation that swing tackle Jaylon Moore could replace Taylor at right tackle — and Moore took the last six snaps of Sunday’s win in relief of rookie left tackle Joshua Simmons. But Heck denied that the move was intended to put any pressure on Taylor.
“Jaylen’s been doing a lot of good things for us,” Heck noted. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in him — [he’s] a good big body in there. [He] did a nice job in there in that 4 minute [situation].”
Ultimately, Heck offered remarks about Taylor that were similar to those that the coaching staff has repeated for over two years.
“We’ve had good communication on that,” said Heck. “We’ve had heart-to-hearts — and Jawaan is a smart guy. He knows what he’s got to do.”
But Heck was still willing to admit that the recurring penalties are frustrating.
“It’s an old coaching adage,” he remarked. “You don’t want to repeat offenses. So if you make a mistake, make it once. Let’s not come back and make the same mistake again.”
