Two-year starter for Cougars is projected to be selected in the first three rounds of this weekend’s NFL draft

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When former BYU offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia was a third-grader in Miss Belnap’s class at Lehi’s Fox Hollow Elementary, the teacher asked every student to go in front of the group and tell everybody what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Suamataia boldly proclaimed that he would be a professional football player in the NFL.

“Everybody started laughing,” he said.

Look who’s laughing now at the would-be doctors, lawyers and chefs. That would be the 6-foot-4, 320-pound Suamataia (pronounced: sue-uh-mah-tah-ee-uh), expected by most prognosticators to be taken late in the first round or in the second round of this week’s NFL draft in Detroit.

“It has been a lot of hard work, a lot of training, a lot of traveling across the world,” Suamataia told the Deseret News last week. “But it has been nothing but a big blessing to not only me, but my future family and also my family right now. There are a lot of emotions, a lot of mixed emotions. But at the end of the day, wherever I get called, that team won’t regret it.”

Nor does Suamataia regret forgoing his final season of eligibility at BYU to enter the draft, which he did on Dec. 13, 2023, a couple weeks after BYU’s season ended with a 40-34 loss in double overtime to Oklahoma State.

“It is time to take the next step and chase my dream of playing in the NFL,” Suamataia wrote in a graphic posted on X. “It is time to honor the name on the back of my jersey and represent my parents, sisters, fiancee, and all my family.”

Upon declaring for the draft, Suamataia chose the agency Athletes First to represent him, mostly because of family ties. His cousins, Chicago Bears linebacker Noah Sewell and Detroit Lions offensive lineman Penei Sewell, are also with agent Justin Schulman and Athletes First.

“I have known them for a long time and was always going to choose them,” Suamataia said. “I can’t think of any better.”

Then Suamataia went to work, training in Orange County, California, with other top prospects such as LSU receiver Brian Thomas, Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen and Oklahoma offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and Andrew Raym.

“The process has been crazy,” Suamataia said. “I am just trying to stay level-headed, not get too excited, not get too stressed out. It is definitely a big blessing and a big life dream of mine to get my name called. I am trying to be where my feet are every day until the day comes and my name is called.”

What will that day be like? The first round of the draft will be held Thursday, while the second and third rounds are Friday and the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds are Saturday.

Suamataia said he will watch the draft from his family’s home in Utah County with his fiancee, former BYU women’s basketball player Nani Falatea, and her parents. Falatea is currently in the transfer portal and hasn’t decided yet where she will play next.

“No big party, nothing like that,” Suamataia said. “Just me and the people closest to me.”

Showing out at the NFL Scouting Combine

Suamataia checked in at No. 3 on Bruce Feldman’s annual college football “Freaks List” last August, behind only South Carolina receiver Nyckoles Harbor and Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., and was voted a captain by his teammates for the 2023 season. He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.

At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, he ran a 5.04-second 40-yard dash, put up 31 bench presses and a 1.74 time in the 10-yard split. His vertical jump was 28 inches and his broad jump was 9 feet, 2 inches.

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BYU offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia (78) cools off on the sideline during the second quarter of an NCAA football game against Kansas on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 in Lawrence, Kan. | Colin E. Braley, Associated Press

“It was a dream as a kid to be running on TV, so that was really fun,” he said. “I got to be there with a lot of boys that I knew from different colleges, so it was really cool.”

After BYU wrapped up spring practices on March 30, head coach Kalani Sitake said whichever NFL team takes Suamataia will get a hard-working, driven athlete with a lot of upside.

“We talk about putting guys into the NFL all the time,” Sitake said. “I want to put as many of our guys into the league as possible, so I am excited for Kingsley. … The hard part is that Kingsley still had a couple years left to play. … But I have to be able to support them in what they want to get done.”

After the NFL talent gathering in Indianapolis — BYU punter Ryan Rehkow and quarterback Kedon Slovis were also invited — Suamataia went out on the traveling circuit, visiting about 10 NFL teams and participating in Zoom calls with a bunch of others.

Which teams showed the most interest?

“Shoot, I would say all of them,” he said. “There were a lot of great teams I went to, so a lot of them showed great interest. I wouldn’t say there is one more than another. … I didn’t have a favorite. It was just a blessing being there. I can’t really choose favorites at this point. Just grateful for the process.”

Looking ahead to the NFL

Suamataia calls himself a “true left tackle,” but acknowledges he could play right tackle as well, if called upon. He played right tackle his first season at BYU (Blake Freeland of the Indianapolis Colts was the starting left tackle in 2022) and then moved over to the other side and flourished there.

A five-star recruit out of Orem High, where he led the Tigers to four-straight state championships, Suamataia began his college career at Oregon, but redshirted in 2021 after appearing in only one game for the Ducks.

At Oregon, his roommate was Malaesala “Sala” Aumavae-Laulu, now an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens.

But Suamataia didn’t have a favorite team growing up, instead focusing on emulating great players such as Orlando Pace back in the day and now current stars such as his cousin Penei Sewell, Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers and Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Suamataia said it is “going to be a big blessing to have money,” but isn’t really thinking about what his first big purchase will be. He plans to invest most of his NFL salary, and not rush out and buy a fancy car or truck to replace the Ford F150 pickup he currently drives around Orem.

“Probably around that second contract, I am going to buy my mom (Tamara) a new house,” he said. “I guess that is the only big thing on my mind right now.”

Is Suamataia a first-rounder?

Quarterback Zach Wilson was the last former BYU player to be drafted in the first round, taken by the New York Jets with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft. Will Suamataia be the next?

Nobody really knows.

A consensus survey of most mock drafts puts Suamataia somewhere in the second round, although The Ringer’s Danny Kelly has the the big man going to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and Andy Reid with the last pick, No. 32, of the first round.

“The process has been crazy.I am just trying to stay level-headed, not get too excited, not get too stressed out. It is definitely a big blessing and a big life dream of mine to get my name called. I am trying to be where my feet are every day until the day comes and my name is called.”
— BYU offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia
“The Chiefs desperately need to add depth and talent to their offensive line, and do so here with Suamataia,” Kelly wrote. “He has experience starting at both tackle spots and has the body type to fill in at guard in a pinch.”

Besides, Reid loves to put former BYU stars on his roster.

One of the pre-eminent draft analysts, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., has Suamataia going to the Chiefs as well, but with the 64th overall pick, the final pick of the second round.

“With 2023 starter Donovan Smith unsigned, the Chiefs have Wanya Morris at left tackle but not much else,” Kiper wrote. “They should bring in competition. Suamataia, my No. 9 OT in this class, took snaps at both left and right tackle in college, but he made huge strides while playing on the left side last season. He’s strong and quick, and he has the feet to get to the second level in the run game.”

Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Suamataia as the 40th best prospect in the draft, and writes, “Suamataia is still very young and lacks refinement in several areas, but his blend of size, mobility and core power are the foundation of a scheme-diverse NFL starter. He will require a patient coaching staff who can ease his transition to the pro level.”

All that said, Brugler has Suamataia going to the New England Patriots with the second pick of the second round, No. 34 overall.

The Athletic also has BYU’s Rehkow going in the seventh round to the Cincinnati Bengals.
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The versatile offensive lineman is seemingly a perfect fit for the Super Bowl champions and will protect Patrick Mahomes well

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Coach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs wanted BYU left tackle Kingsley Suamataia so badly in the second round of the NFL draft Friday night that they were willing to trade up to get him.

Well, only by one spot — but it’s the thought that counts, right?

The Super Bowl champions grabbed the 6-foot-5, 326-pound Oregon transfer with the No. 63 overall pick, the second-to-last pick of the second round, swapping draft order with the San Francisco 49ers to get Suamataia.

Did the Chiefs somehow know that the 49ers wanted Suamataia, too? San Francisco then took Renardo Green, a cornerback from Florida State, with the 64th overall pick and final pick of the second round.

At any rate, the pick had to bring a sigh of relief to the normally softspoken Suamataia, who was generally believed to be a late first round or mid-second round pick in most mock drafts.

“A lot of emotions, a lot of crying,” is the way Suamataia described his reaction to finally getting the phone call. “It feels like you can breathe again.”

Suamataia on the Zoom call with reporters who cover the Chiefs was more excited, more animated than this reporter has ever seen him, while continually giving thanks for the opportunity and “honor” the Chiefs are giving him to protect the franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“I think I am going to fit perfectly. I will come in as a rookie and get ready to work. Wherever coach Andy (Reid) needs me at, I can play both ways, right and left (tackle), so wherever they can fit me in, I am willing to do whatever it takes to get a (starting) job,” Suamataia said, while wearing a red and gold lei made by his grandmother.

Noted Matt Derrick, beat writer at ChiefsDigest.com, on X: “He won the press conference in a rout.”

Elation had followed temporary heartburn, because a couple of tackles who were projected to go after him were picked before him in the second round — Houston’s Patrick Paul (Dolphins), Notre Dame’s Blake Fisher (Texans) and Washington’s Roger Rosengarten (Ravens).

“Coach Andy Reid, he loves his BYU guys. It just felt like home already,” Suamataia said of his visit to Kansas City, while also already extolling the virtue of KC barbecue. “Talking to coach Reid, it felt like sitting at home talking to one of my uncles.”

Speaking of that Baltimore bypass, it would have been cool to see the Ravens pick Suamataia, if only because former Highland High and Oregon defensive tackle and fellow Utah-born Pacific Islander Haloti Ngata was making the announcement. And, of course, former BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy now stars for Baltimore’s defense.

But Suamataia, 21, would probably trade those moments of anxiety to hear his name called out by former Chiefs four-time pro bowler Jamaal Charles, even if the former Kansas City great butchered his last name, as most do.


The crew on ABC’s broadcast mentioned that Suamataia has “great athletic genes” and is the cousin of Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell, one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. They showed a picture of Suamataia and Sewell working out together at Orem High.

The broadcast also showed Suamataia with fellow Orem High product Puka Nacua who is now, of course, starring for the Los Angeles Rams. Rece Davis mentioned that “family is everything” to Suamataia. Boy, was he not kidding.

Suamataia told the Deseret News last week that he would watch the draft with family members only at his parents’ home in Orem, along with his future in-laws, the parents of his fiancee, former BYU women’s basketball star Nani Falatea. Hey Kansas-area coaches: She’s in the transfer portal, and she’s quite good.

BYU’s last three starting left tackles have now moved on to the NFL, as Suamataia follows 2021 pick Brady Christensen (Panthers) and 2023 pick Blake Freeland (Colts). It is quite a pipeline the Cougars have going to the NFL, and, fittingly, Suamataia joins a pipeline from BYU to the Chiefs, thanks to Reid, who always seems to be looking out for his former Cougars.

What are the Chiefs getting?

“This guy was a phenom from Day 1,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said last year. “I have known his family forever. He’s a great player, from a great family. He comes from a great lineage of wonderful people.”


From this perspective, the Chiefs are getting a solid player, a freak athlete and a gentle giant. Suamataia rarely makes mistakes, gets few penalties and plays within himself.

Suamataia allowed only two sacks in 701 pass-blocking snaps (via Pro Football Focus) in his two-year starting career at BYU, having played right tackle in 2022 and left tackle in 2023 when Freeland moved on to the NFL. He appeared in 23 games and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2023.

That versatility will serve Suamataia well as he becomes a “swing tackle” for the Chiefs and competes with Wanya Morris for playing time and protects the best quarterback in the league, Patrick Mahomes. Jawaan Taylor is KC’s other starting tackle.

In a lengthy chat with Suamataia the week before the draft, I asked the big lineman if he had a favorite NFL team growing up. He declined to name one, not wanting to damage his chances with any club, but did say he patterned his game after his cousin, Penei Sewell, and Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles.

He said he just wanted to go to a team that “really, really wants me.”

The Chiefs showed that they did Friday night, and his grandmother already had the decorations ready.