Several Kansas City Chiefs players don’t get a lot of credit for it but have played a crucial role in the team’s success over the last several years.
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Take right guard Trey Smith, for example, who is entering his fourth season as a starter for the Chiefs and was named Kansas City’s most underrated player by PFF’s Zoltán Buday.
“The Chiefs’ offensive tackles got a lot of attention last season for all the wrong reasons, while Joe Thuney and Creed Humphrey continued to excel on the interior. But there was not much talk of right guard Trey Smith’s performance despite him being one of the most consistent guards in the league,” Buday wrote on May 13. “He is one of just three players to have played more than 4,000 snaps over the past three seasons — with Humphrey and Patrick Mahomes being the other two — and his 76.5 overall grade over that span ranks 11th among guards.”
Trey Smith: From Sixth-Round Pick to Full-Time Starter
After sliding in the 2021 NFL Draft due to medical concerns, the Chiefs selected Smith in the sixth round, 226th overall. He quickly established himself in Kansas City and has started a total of 60 games for the team (50 regular season, 10 postseason) since entering the league.
Because Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney are two of the best players at their respective positions, Smith is often overlooked when discussing the team’s most impactful offensive lineman. But that shouldn’t be considered a knock on Smith. Instead, it should highlight how special his fellow Kansas City offensive linemen are.
With that being said — Smith is a high-quality starter in his own right. He allowed just 2 sacks during the 2023 regular season and has gone two straight postseasons without surrendering a sack, per PFF.
When you also consider that Smith will have just a $3.3 million cap hit in 2024 and had less than a $1 million cap hit over the last three seasons, per Spotrac, he truly is the most underrated player on Kansas City’s roster given the lack of hype surrounding him.
Andy Reid: Chiefs Are Back With a Purpose
Speaking to the media on May 6, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid discussed the team’s mentality at this time last year, and what the current vibe is around the team.
“Yeah, I would tell you they came back with a purpose last year, which is important at this time of the year,” Reid explained during his press conference. “As simple as that sounds with all the time you’ve got before the season starts. I would tell you they had the same thing this year. Maybe it was because they were away from each other in phase one and other teams were together and they saw that. When they got back they were working and working fast and hard and aggressive – or as aggressive as you can get in this camp – but aggressive working to get better on the things that they need to get better at.”
Next up in Kansas City’s offseason program are organized team activities (OTAs), which take place from May 20 to May 22.
