The Chiefs Might Be DONE with 2nd Year LT Josh Simmons After Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes Kick Him Out of a Meeting. Bonus: Mike Vrabel Took a Hard Pass on Him.
David Eulitt. Getty Images.Say what you will about how hard it is to hit a fastball with movement, stop a 100 mph slapshot, or break par at a US Open. All of those are tough. But there's possibly nothing in sports with a lower success rate than evaluating NFL draft talent. Particularly when trying to assess whether some young prospect, barely into adulthood, is a "character" concern. For all the red flags that were flown about Randy Moss that caused him to drop, there's not a GM who passed on him that won't die with regret for believing the reports. On the other extreme, N'Keal Harry had a spotless reputation as a team-first guy, but his receivers coach Troy Brown recently talked about how frustrating it was to get him to put in effort, because he just didn't love the game. The point being, you never know with these guys.
Though sometimes you have a pretty good indication. Take, for instance, former Ohio State left tackle prospect Josh Simmons, who I wrote about last year. Mike Vrabel met with him in the pre-draft process, mainly because he was shopping for tackles, and partly out of Buckeyes brand loyalty:
What I wrote:
Simmons is one of the most controversial, divisive prospects of the year. Certainly among offensive tackles. One who has draft pundits all over the map as to where - if not whether - he should be selected. So we've got a story on our hands.
"Heavy.com - Simmons is certainly talented enough to address [the Patriots] need, despite the torn patella that cut his final season with the Buckeyes short. Yet, there are concerns about Simmons that go beyond his injury, at least for some.
"Those concerns relate to an article written by longtime sportswriter Bob McGinn … for Tyler Dunne’s Go Long newsletter. In the article, McGinn included quotes from an unnamed scout. Quotes that are damning about Simmons and his temperament.
"Specifically, the scout told McGinn, Simmons’ issues 'are more football character. He has a complete [expletive] sense of urgency, like a total finesse player. Mental is an issue. Lacks power, struggles to anchor. Fundamentals are poor. Plays like a guy that was at a JUCO and just came here.'"
All of which could just be dismissed as just the thoughts of one scout among thousands:
Giphy Images.… if it weren't for the fact that the Draft Intelligentsia weren't also all over the map with their projections.
Which was accurate. I cited sources where Simmons was ranked as high as the 7th overall prospect to going to the Patriots with the No. 38 pick. And making some "Top 10 Boom or Bust" lists. He ended up going to Kansas City with the 32nd pick. And how's that going a year and a half into his career?
Not well:
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Source - Josh Simmons was told to leave a Kansas City Chiefs team meeting by coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a situation for which the second-year offensive tackle later apologized, sources told NFL Network.
The incident occurred Wednesday, one day before the Chiefs placed Simmons on injured reserve because of a back injury.
Simmons, a 2025 first-round draft pick who was inactive for Kansas City's first five games, was sitting with his feet up in the offense's meeting room when Reid asked him to put his feet down, according to multiple sources who witnessed the interaction.
The exchange continued and disrupted the meeting, sources said, until Mahomes echoed Reid's sentiment for Simmons to leave the room and go get treatment. A perturbed Simmons left the room but did not leave the building. Later in the day, Simmons apologized to Reid and team leadership by saying he could have handled the situation better.
Simmons missed practice Wednesday, with the Chiefs' injury report listing the reason as "back/not injury related-personal."
Whether "Reid and team leadership" accepted the apology is not entirely clear. But I think we can assume it's an emphatic "Fuck no," just based on that intentionally confusing injury report, which is more loaded with weapons-grade passive/aggressiveness than a thousand Thanksgivings with my in laws.
But that's the Chiefs cross to bear. The organization took a gamble. They ignored all the other girls telling them this guy is no good for them, decided they could fix him, and decided to settle down with him. Now they can't complain when he's not around with they need him. And when he does show up, he's putting his feet all over the nice, clean furniture. Like he doesn't treat them with any respect and then just tries to kiss and make up when it's too late for that.
My concern and my loyalty are not in Kansas City. They're in Foxboro. Where not only did the Pats dodge a bullet by taking Will Campbell instead (who already has 24 career starts to Simmons' eight, and is 19th in Pro Football Focus grades among all tackles this year) they also doubled down on the position in this year's draft and struck gold.
Caleb Lomu is currently 15th in PFF grades among tackles. He's the No. 2 overall blocker in his rookie class, and No. 1 overall in pass blocking, with a grade of 80.2. That's not among tackles, mind you; that's among all rookies at any position. And right behind him, in pass pro is TE Eli Raridon, at 79.6.
So that's three young, solid talents at two positions of need in just two drafts. Positions that had been very much neglected for over a decade in New England, unless you count the big swing-and-a-miss that was Isaiah Wynn with the 23rd pick in 2018. And the non-factors that were Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene in 2020. And I don't. While their rivals for the AFC title find themselves with a disaster on their hands, and a wasted 1st rounder everyone tried to warn them about.
So big thanks are in order for Campbell, Lomu, and Raridon. And most of all, Vrabel for not taking the cheese on Simmons and making these picks happen instead. Better the Chiefs than us.