The Chiefs have a clear pressure point heading into 2026, and it’s not just Patrick Mahomes coming off the worst injury of his career. It’s the guy tasked with guarding his blind side on the right edge: Jaylon Moore.
Kansas City is counting on Moore to stabilize a spot that was a problem all last season. With Jawaan Taylor now on the Atlanta Falcons, Moore is set to be the clear-cut starter, and the Chiefs need a much cleaner result than the one they got in 2025.
That matters because the rest of the offense has reasons to believe it can move in the right direction. Kenneth Walker III, now the Chiefs’ starting running back and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, brings the kind of burst and shiftiness Kansas City was missing in 2025. Walker topped 1,000 rushing yards in a split backfield with Zach Charbonnet and showed he could carry the load when Charbonnet went down with a season-ending injury early in the playoffs.
Even with Walker giving the offense a steadier foundation, the passing game still has to clean itself up. Kansas City’s receivers were among the league leaders in drops last season, and while that group isn’t expected to be as shaky in 2025, its production still looms large over the offense’s ceiling.
The line, though, is where the real spotlight sits. Center Creed Humphrey, guard Trey Smith and left tackle Josh Simmons all played well in 2025, but they were forced to cover for uneven play on the right side. Moore and Taylor were the weak link, with Moore signing a big deal and starting only six games, while Taylor finished as the most penalized tackle in football.
That’s why Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker singled Moore out as one of 10 make-or-break players in 2026. Locker pointed to Moore’s numbers as a major clue for what the Chiefs offense can become.
“Appearing on a career-high 427 snaps while starters dealt with injury, Moore compiled a 63.1 overall PFF grade,” Locker wrote Wednesday. “The former [San Francisco] 49er was at his worst in pass protection, allowing 27 pressures on only 257 opportunities - good for a 93.8 pass-blocking efficiency score, tied for the eighth-worst among qualified tackles.”
For Kansas City, the message is simple: Mahomes can only do so much if the protection on the right side doesn’t hold up. Moore doesn’t need to be a star, but he does need to be better than he was last year. And with Mahomes expected to lean on him, the margin for error is thin.
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