Patrick Mahomes will have plenty of eyes on him when the Chiefs host the Broncos on “Monday Night Football,” but the quarterback isn’t the only one stepping into a heavy spotlight. Kansas City is also asking an undrafted rookie, Kahlil Benson, to protect Mahomes’ blind side in the season-opener, even though Benson has never played left tackle before.
That’s the assignment for a player who climbed fast through camp and preseason to earn a starting job. Benson, 24, arrives with a winding college résumé that included two stints at Indiana and a one-year stop at Colorado.
Over that stretch, he logged snaps at right guard, right tackle and left guard. At Indiana, he was the Hoosiers’ starting right tackle when they won their first national title in 2026.
The Chiefs were drawn to the frame first. Benson is 6-foot-6, 319 pounds, and has 35-inch arms, the kind of measurements that jump off the page.
He’s been praised for using that size to overwhelm rushers, though his technique and his ability to handle quick edge defenders still have question marks attached. Even so, Kansas City liked what it saw enough to bring him in after rookie minicamp, where he turned enough heads to land a contract.
Mahomes has noticed the progression.
"He's done a great job just competing," Mahomes said of Benson, per ESPN. "I remember watching [rookie minicamp] film and seeing that guy and seeing him kind of do stuff the right way. And he's just gotten better and better all the way to this point."
During training camp, Benson got most of the first-team work at right tackle and looked like a candidate to fill in for veteran Jaylon Moore. But Josh Simmons’ back injury changed the picture, and Benson now shifts to left tackle for Monday night. It’s a big ask, and a new one, but it also says plenty about how Kansas City views him.
"He's done a nice job for us," Reid said of Benson, per ESPN. "He's obviously shown us that he has the ability to play. We wouldn't put him in there if we didn't think that.
"We've all been through that. I think when we first got hired, we thought we probably were pretty good at it, so I want his confidence to be that and go out and play and just use his abilities."
In Other News...
Travis Kelce Shared A Tom Cruise Detail Chiefs Fans Will Love
Fresh off the Chiefs win over the Broncos, Jason and Travis Kelce stayed in Kansas City to record a new episode of their New Heights podcast, and the setting only added to the buzz around Travis latest football weekend. Tom Cruise was in Travis Kelces suite during the game, a sighting that already had fans talking, and Cruise is lined up to appear on a special episode of the podcast.
Travis also gave listeners a lighter family moment, sharing how his nieces first addressed Taylor Swift by her full name before being coached to call her Aunt Tay Tay. Between the celebrity guest tease and the personal anecdote, it was one of those episodes that reminded Chiefs fans how much attention now follows nearly every part of Kelces world, on and off the field. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Are Suddenly Tied To A Steelers Trade Rumor Worth Watching
A contract extension has not come together yet for Joey Porter Jr., and his Week 1 absence because of a back injury only added another layer of uncertainty around the Steelers cornerback. Now his situation is drawing attention beyond Pittsburgh, with the Chiefs and Lions reportedly monitoring developments as the season gets underway.
For Kansas City, any whisper involving a young, high-upside defensive back is worth at least a look, especially this early in the year when teams are still taking stock of their depth and long-term needs. The reports remain speculative and nothing has been confirmed by either team, but Porters status is suddenly one of those league storylines that could linger if the contract talks stay stalled. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Kelce Is Suddenly Tied To A Strange Off-Field Legal Case
A federal fraud case in Missouri has ended with a steep prison sentence for Sid Jawahar, who was convicted of running a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. Among the victims named in the case was Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, a surprising footnote in a story that had nothing to do with football but still landed on the radar of Kansas City fans.
Jawahar pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with deportation expected after he serves that term. The court filing did not spell out Kelces specific involvement, leaving the Chiefs star tied to the case only as one of the people harmed by the scheme and not as a figure at its center. [Read more 🡒]