Why The Kansas City Chiefs’ Signing Of Donovan Smith Was A Wise Move

Shortly after the NFL draft, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Donovan Smith to a one-year deal that could be worth up to $9 million.

It’s great value, considering Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid confirmed on Monday that Smith will enter offseason practices as the starting tackle protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blindside.

“He’s been a left tackle at a high level,” Reid said, “good football player.”

Indeed, Smith has started 124 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including protecting quarterback Tom Brady, who is less than nimble, for 45 games.

The Buccaneers did release Smith after the 2022 season, but one can attribute that mostly to Tampa Bay’s financial constraints, and cutting Smith saved them about $10 million.

Smith, however, also struggled last year. He allowed 31 pressures and six sacks last season, and his 12 accepted penalties were the most of any offensive lineman. At least three penalties directly negated Brady touchdowns.

Those are obviously bad numbers, but they might be explained by the fact that he played through elbow hyperextension and foot injuries in 2022.

“Last year he was hurt,” Reid said. “The year before that, he was one of the top-graded left tackles.”

At the very least, Smith is worth a fairly nominal financial risk, which will not hamstring the Chiefs into the future.

If it doesn’t work out, they can always go with Jawaan Taylor, who they signed to a four-year, $80 million contract.

Prior to the NFL Draft, Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach even noted Taylor’s flexibility.

“He’s long, quick feet, a really, really efficient pass protector,” Veach said. “He certainly wants the opportunity to play left, but if we were to draft a left tackle, I mean, we know what Jawaan’s tape looks like at right tackle.”

Some Chiefs fans, though, were alarmed that the Chiefs could spend that much on a right tackle, thinking that left tackles are much more valuable than right ones because they protect the blind side of the quarterback and often face the best pass rushers.

But Taylor might eventually play that position for the Chiefs in the future, and Veach always has valued getting the best offensive line players regardless of position.

For example, he signed Joe Thuney in 2021 to the fifth highest total for a lineman or an $80 million sum, even though he’s a guard. (At the that point, only guard Zack Martin made more in total value.)

The 29-year-old Smith is actually younger than Thuney, though some have made it sound like Smith is old and broken down.

The man he replaced, Orlando Brown Jr., is not even three years younger but will make almost twice as much in average annual salary ($16 million vs. $9 million), and Smith may not reach that $9 million sum because it’s incentive-laden.

All in all, those numbers make Smith a low-risk financial move for someone with a lot of starting experience.

Worst-case scenario: If Smith’s level of play really has declined and was not just injury-related, the Chiefs have a great Plan B at left tackle in Taylor, who many thought was going to be Plan A.