Sam McDowell: This Chiefs rookie is in line for a major workload -- at an important position

Sam McDowell, The Kansas City Star on Aug 7, 2026

Published in Football

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Trey Smith is standing inside a white tent off the edge of the Chiefs’ practice field, thinking back to his first time here in St. Joseph, because he’s been asked to recall his rookie year.

But before he answers a question, he interrupts with a description.

“You’re taking me back,” he says, “to a nightmare.”

Smith signed a contract last year to be the highest-compensated right guard in the NFL. He’s a two-time Pro Bowl player. That, of course, is not the nightmare.

But how it started? Well, you heard his description. He was inconsistent. He got beat. You try blocking prime Chris Jones in your introduction to the NFL.

It was only seconds into that first training camp when Smith learned he would be part of the first unit. A sixth-round pick would be the guy, the Chiefs determined, which meant they’d live through the ups and downs.

His story arc is five years old.

It feels quite evergreen today. Same as it did last year. And same as it did the year before.

This season just comes with a twist.

The Chiefs are breaking in a rookie offensive lineman during training camp once more, just as they did Smith and others who would follow, but this one comes from even less fanfare than a sixth-round pick.

Kahlil Benson has emerged as the early camp leader in the clubhouse for the right tackle job. He went undrafted in the spring after winning a national championship with Indiana a few months earlier. Heck, he went unsigned after the draft, joining the Chiefs on merely a rookie tryout. He earned a deal, held his spot on the roster when the veterans showed up, and he’s now battling to protect Patrick Mahomes in Week 1.

Benson has taken the most snaps with Mahomes-led top unit, though Jaylon Moore, the presumed starter when offseason activities began, has rotated some with the starters. But Moore has also taken snaps at both left and right tackle with the second team, perhaps a sign of a future role as a backup swing tackle.

It’s a rookie’s job to lose.

The Chiefs have been here before. It’s how they built this thing.

To Benson’s left on the first team is Kingsley Suamataia. He too started Week 1 as a rookie, then as a tackle, before he moved to guard as a second-year player.

Another spot to the left is center Creed Humphrey, and then Trey Smith. Both started all 17 games as a rookie, earning the job from the opening snap and keeping it through the Super Bowl. And on the blindside is Josh Simmons, who beat out Moore for the left tackle job last year ... as a rookie.

Every last member of the Chiefs’ offensive line is familiar with Benson’s, well, unfamiliarity with a starting job in their first NFL training camp. They’ve lived it.

“Trial by fire,” Smith said, “is the best way to put it.”

Will they let the rookie put out the fire?

Benson didn’t have the best practice Monday, the first day with padded practices. He got beat in more than his share of the one-on-one drills. He, to be clear, hasn’t earned the job yet. But the Chiefs stuck with him Tuesday and Wednesday, and he responded well.

A bad day will not provide the best indicator of his ability.

A string of them would.

There’s a difference in the two. Smith offered the necessary reminder of it. And Suamataia was benched during his rookie season. And Simmons had his moments, too.

“Not to make the same mistake twice — that’s what I’m looking for,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “We’ll give you a chance here to learn, but if you start making (mistakes) consistently, then we’ve got a problem. But he’s been doing a good job. There’s a hiccup here or there, but he fixes them normally.”

And wouldn’t this be the best path?

The Chiefs need a diamond in the rough along the line. They handed Smith and Humphrey the largest contracts in the NFL at their respective positions. They used a first-round pick on Simmons, after turning a second-round card in for Suamataia.

They have to find a cheaper option.

That’s what is at stake at right tackle. It’s a Week 1 job.

And then it’s the 2027 to-do list.

Moore’s expensive contract expires after this season. The Chiefs will be on the search for a right tackle in the offseason — unless they have another option.

If Benson emerges — and then sticks — it would allow the Chiefs to spend offseason dollars elsewhere. Such as, say, a splash in the never-cheap wide receiver market.

A tie, therefore, should go to the guy returning.

It’s why they live through the ups and downs that will come — the inconsistencies and struggles that Smith recalled confronting five years ago.

The Chiefs know what they have in Jaylon Moore. They evidently believe they could have more in Benson, a bet they appear closer to placing, but they’re not yet to the window.

It’s an intriguing training camp battle.

It’s a potential heck of a journey at a rapid pace.

But at some point, it’s also a necessary part of the blueprint.