The Kansas City Chiefs will return to Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri, next week, as training camp opens to prepare for the 2026 season. The Chiefs are beginning training camp in an unfamiliar situation: coming off a losing season for the first time in head coach Andy Reid’s tenure.
Changes to the depth chart can be expected following a losing season, and there were plenty of departures after year’s end. One of the most significant was the starting right tackle of three years in Kansas City.
Jawaan Taylor was cut in March as a cap-saving measure. Taylor started on the right edge through two AFC titles. While mostly reliable, he was often penalized and a source of frustration amongst fans given his high cap hit and frequent errors or penalties. Taylor eventually signed with the Atlanta Falcons.
Right tackle is the only position along the offensive line slated to have a new Week 1 starter this season, and the only real position up for grabs along the starting Chiefs’ offense. During OTAs in June, Andy Reid acknowledged there was a “competition” being held for the starting spot.
“Moore has been kind of the mainstay in there, and then we’ve moved guys in there,” Reid said. “We’ll just see, we’ll see what happens. Those other four spots are really pretty solid, and I feel good about whichever one of these guys wins the competition there. I think we got guys that will be okay in that position, it’s just a matter of who ends up being that guy.”
It is imperative the Chiefs make the right decision in order to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes returning from injury; it may be one reason the team isn’t didn’t grant Moore — who has never been a full-time starter — the gig unopposed, despite a $18 million cap hit this year.
So let’s take a look at the candidates for who could be the Chiefs’ starting right tackle in September, starting with Moore:
Jaylon Moore
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DECEMBER 07: Jaylon Moore #77 of the Kansas City Chiefs drops back to block during an NFL football game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 7, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
There are two main contenders to land the starting right tackle job, and Moore is the “mainstay,” as Reid put it. The Chiefs have already shown a lot of faith in the veteran following the release of Taylor, as well as trading away offensive tackle Wanya Morris to the Falcons this offseason.
Moore is entering his second season in Kansas City, settling in at right tackle now after playing on both edges as the team’s swing tackle. He started four games at left tackle and two at right tackle, playing 38% of the offense’s snaps over the course of the year; he was credited with three sacks.
Moore has 18 career starts after spending the majority of his career as the backup to San Francisco 49ers’ perennial All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams. He has primarily spent time on the left side, but with Mahomes’ blindside in the hands of Joshua Simmons, Moore has no choice but to focus on the right; it is his first opportunity to enter an NFL season as a starter.
In Moore’s two starts at right tackle in 2025, he surrendered nine pressures.
In 2025, Pro Football Focus’ cumulative pass blocking grade was 57.1, ranking 72nd out of 89 eligible tackles. The cumulative run blocking grade assigned to him was 62.9 (ranked 54th).
Moore is in the last year of his two-year contract with the Chiefs, and holds a dead-cap number of more than $10 million.
Esa Pole
KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 25: Kansas City Chiefs tackle Esa Pole (79) looks to block in the fourth quarter of a Christmas Day NFL game between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs on December 25, 2025 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Pole enters training camp with an outside shot at winning the right tackle job. He is a previous training camp “darling”, one who was cut by Kansas City last preseason and immediately poached from the practice squad by the New York Jets, before eventually landing back on the Chiefs’ practice squad midseason and filling in at left tackle down the stretch.
Pole started the final four games for the Chiefs last season, following a string of offensive-line injuries. The undrafted free agent played admirably and was a bright spot for a depleted roster at the end of the lost season. Pole allowed 15 total pressures and 1 sack in game action, but committed three penalties.
The position battle
Although Moore is the veteran with more experience, many see Pole as having more upside as a starter — and as a longer-term solution. This would keep Moore as the swing backup tackle. Outside of Moore and Pole, undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson may be a long shot to land the job and make the deep Kansas City roster. However, he impressed coaches in minicamp practices. Benson was a starter at right tackle for the undefeated national champions, the Indiana Hoosiers, in 2025.
Reid values continuity and veteran leadership along the offensive line. Having a solid right tackle would significantly bolster an already strong line. He has openly called the right tackle position a competition entering training camp. Is this a serious battle, or just terminology used by Reid to light a fire under Moore to improve training camp and offensive line performance?
We’ll find out soon enough when training camp kicks off in St. Joe.