Nate Taylor: Chiefs targeting OT Ronnie Stanley in free agency

[wazu]

New story. Joe Thuney did everything the Chiefs asked of him — & more.

What’s next for the Chiefs?

They plan to sign Trey Smith to an extension & acquire a new left tackle, targeting Ronnie Stanley.https://t.co/1cKzfqMDbu

— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) March 5, 2025

When free agency begins, the Chiefs will target Ronnie Stanley, the nine-year veteran who is the best left tackle available on the market, according to sources. Stanley, who will turn 31 this month, started all 17 season games last season for the Baltimore Ravens. He earned a 70.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus and allowed just three sacks.

[htismaqe]

Put me in the "don't want him" group. The best ability is availability. Stanley's age and injury history are a hard no for me.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

Andy was a master at the screen game. That's not coming back.


This is Nagy's offense now.

[RunKC]

When the entire local media community says the same thing. It’s usually true, i.e. Kingsley moving to G.

They all said to expect the Chiefs to be active on the offensive side of the ball in FA and heavy on defense in the draft, which makes complete sense based upon what’s available and what Veach said about this draft at the combine.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

I'm not sure this is true.

You're not sure what's true? That Simmons, Conerly Jr., and Ersery aren't better than what's usually avaialble to us (at LT) this late in the 1st?

I mean, I don't even think it's arguable. Conerly alone is a better prospect than guys like Guyton, Kingsley, etc. Just go look at his tape against some of the better pass rushers in the draft.

Simmons is a top 15-20 talent that would only be available due to injury. He's by far the best T we could even dream of being available.

Ersery is more in line with what's usually available, and he'd still arguably be the best, and he's probably 3rd in that range this year.

It's a weird year. There aren't a lot of LTs at the top of the draft, but there should at least be more legitimate options than usual at the end of the 1st. That doesn't mean any of these guys are sure fire day 1 starters at LT, except for Simmons if he's healthy, but they're just better prospects in general.

I'm not saying that makes the draft the best option, I'm not even saying it's ideal, but its definitely a better option than it is most years.

[Go Royals]

Feels very weird to put the only real shot we have at a veteran LT out there in the media for other bidders to hop in on

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Go Royals

Feels very weird to put the only real shot we have at a veteran LT out there in the media for other bidders to hop in on

If the Chiefs leaked this intention publicly, it would have been to ensure that Stanley actually tests free agency rather than signing an extension with the Ravens before we even get to make an offer.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That mother****er is reeruned.

[RunKC]

Not sure I would put Conerly over Guyton. Actually think that’s a good case study bc they are somewhat similar in that they are very athletic players that need to hit the weight room to get functional strength. Guyton had better feet and length and still got baptized as a rookie bc he just wasn’t strong enough.

I will be really disappointed if we don’t draft a DL in the first rd bc this is the best DL class since 2019. It’s insanely loaded.

They could legitimately get their eventual replacement for Chris Jones it’s that good. Derrick Harmon, Walter Nolen, Darius Alexander, Shemar Stewart, Nic Scourton. One of these guys will be there.

Take BPA. They’re clearly better prospects than any of the tackles viable by a wide margin

[wazu]

Originally Posted by staylor26

That mother****er is reeruned.

Maybe, but there is no denying this offense has not been the same since we swapped Bieniemy for Nagy. None of us knows what goes on in those meeting rooms at Arrowhead, but it's a shocking dropoff that can't fully be correlated to any other team changes.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by staylor26

You're not sure what's true? That Simmons, Conerly Jr., and Ersery aren't better than what's usually avaialble to us (at LT) this late in the 1st?

I mean, I don't even think it's arguable. Conerly alone is a better prospect than guys like Guyton, Kingsley, etc. Just go look at his tape against some of the better pass rushers in the draft.

Simmons is a top 15-20 talent that would only be available due to injury. He's by far the best T we could even dream of being available.

Ersery is more in line with what's usually available, and he'd still arguably be the best, and he's probably 3rd in that range this year.

It's a weird year. There aren't a lot of LTs at the top of the draft, but there should at least be more legitimate options than usual at the end of the 1st. That doesn't mean any of these guys are sure fire day 1 starters at LT, except for Simmons if he's healthy, but they're just better prospects in general.

I'm not saying that makes the draft the best option, I'm not even saying it's ideal, but its definitely a better option than it is most years.

Simmons, yeah-but that's a significant injury.

The rest I'm not sure. I'm really not.

If you're saying that none of these guys are day one ready starters, then I'm not sure they ARE better prospects than Kingsley because Kingsley has 100% of EVERYTHING physically.

I mean, we'll see. But I'm not sure. I think we may be looking at a bunch of guards. And even if not, are any of these guys likely better in 2025 than Kingsley in 2025? Because that's the real question.

And I'm not sure that the BEST thing isn't to bring in a Humphries/Donovan Smith to compete and stick with your initial investment. It was going to take time.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by wazu

Maybe, but there is no denying this offense has not been the same since we swapped Bieniemy for Nagy. None of us knows what goes on in those meeting rooms at Arrowhead, but it's a shocking dropoff that can't fully be correlated to any other team changes.

Correlation does not imply causation.

It was Andy's offense with EB, and it's Andy's offense with Nagy. He's not letting anybody change his offense.

It is quite obvious WR play (last year) and OL play (this year) have more to do with it than anything. As does Kelce's drop off.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by wazu

Maybe, but there is no denying this offense has not been the same since we swapped Bieniemy for Nagy. None of us knows what goes on in those meeting rooms at Arrowhead, but it's a shocking dropoff that can't fully be correlated to any other team changes.

Correlation is not Causation.

This offense hasn't been the same since Hill left (has been effective, but different.)
This offense hasn't been the same since Fisher and Schwartz went down (this is true.)
This offense was not good with Toney and Moore as the WR's.
This offense was better with Rice.
This offense was better with Rice and Hollywood, but not good with Thuney at LT and Caliendo at RG against an excellent front four.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Simmons, yeah-but that's a significant injury.

The rest I'm not sure. I'm really not.

If you're saying that none of these guys are day one ready starters, then I'm not sure they ARE better prospects than Kingsley because Kingsley has 100% of EVERYTHING physically.

I mean, we'll see. But I'm not sure. I think we may be looking at a bunch of guards. And even if not, are any of these guys likely better in 2025 than Kingsley in 2025? Because that's the real question.

And I'm not sure that the BEST thing isn't to bring in a Humphries/Donovan Smith to compete and stick with your initial investment. It was going to take time.

Kingsley wasn't even a top 50 player. Conerly isn't making it out of the top 40. Kingsley didn't have great tape against some of the drafts best pass rushers like Conerly does. Just because both guys need some level of development doesn't mean that Conerly isn't objectively the better prospect.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Correlation is not Causation.

This offense hasn't been the same since Hill left (has been effective, but different.)
This offense hasn't been the same since Fisher and Schwartz went down (this is true.)
This offense was not good with Toney and Moore as the WR's.
This offense was better with Rice.
This offense was better with Rice and Hollywood, but not good with Thuney at LT and Caliendo at RG against an excellent front four.

The offense was still great the year after Hill left. The dropoff happened the following year when Nagy took over. Fischer and Schwartz had both been long gone.

Another year of this https://t.co/O4fBAtpmUg pic.twitter.com/ng9jw2bziM

— Julio (@RasheeTouchdown) January 24, 2025

[crispystl]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

He was healthy last season and wasn't fantastic by any stretch. He was good. In a system that is notoriously easy on its OTs.

And that's the best he'll ever be again. He's probably never playing 17 games again. He's certainly never getting younger.

The version of him we saw last season is the apex for this version of Ronnie Stanley and no, he's no sort of slam dunk.

The only slam dunk is the $$$ he'll get, and that's a dunk for him, not the team that pays it.