As great as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is, football is the ultimate team sport, and he can’t do it all on his own.

Mahomes had the worst statistical season of his career in 2024, thanks largely to a decimated wide receiver corps and a revolving door at left tackle. In 2025 the Chiefs are hoping that their WRs stay healthy and rookie Josh Simmons develops into their franchise LT.

Kansas City traded All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney during the offseason to gain some salary cap relief and extra draft capitol. Replacing him will be Kingsley Suamataia, who is still learning the position after not cutting it at LT last season. That means Mahomes will be relying on two young players to protect his blindside.

While speaking to the media following Wednesday’s training camp practice, Mahomes expressed encouragement regarding Simmons and Suamataia.

“I thought they learned a ton,” Mahomes said. “Obviously they’re talented and they have the physical abilities, but being tested by Spags (Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) every single day, you have to learn how to not make the same mistakes twice, and they did a good job of that. So, we’ll continue to get better and better as they continue to get more and more reps. I thought they did a great job getting better and better each and every day at training camp, and we can continue to build that throughout the season.”

There’s definitely an element of risk and unknown when banking on young players. Optimism is very high for Simmons, but expectations for Suamataia are tempered. If Simmons is everything that the Chiefs hope he can be, they can probably live with Suamataia needing time to develop. However, if both come along slowly, we could see more of the same struggles that Mahomes and the offense have battled through each of the past two years.