Pro Bowl LT DJ Humphries [signed by Chiefs]

[SHOWTIME]

Does Veach give him a call?

I predict @Chiefs. Makes too much sense https://t.co/hu5xdI5KF2

— Justin Pugh (@JustinPugh) November 22, 2024

[JPH83]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

If we win it this year and PM has 4 SB's by age 30 I am fine with a year of cap cleanup and loading up on younger players.

Just load up the offense so we can be entertained and PM can win a playoff game or 2.

Also agree. If we win this year I'd let Trey, Bolton, Reid and Omenihu all go. You can't take it for granted you'll be able to draft studs, but at that point I'd reset with some new guys. I'd find a vet at LT, try and bring Holywood back and go from there

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

If we win it this year and PM has 4 SB's by age 30 I am fine with a year of cap cleanup and loading up on younger players.

Just load up the offense so we can be entertained and PM can win a playoff game or 2.

Eat shit in 2026 and draft Jeremiah Smith in the 2027 draft.

PROFIT!

Smith might be the best WR prospect since Julio Jones. Maybe since Calvin Johnson.

Shit, purely as a prospect he might be the best EVER by the time the draft gets here.

That kid doing what he's doing as a 19 year old true freshman is just damn near unheard of. It's generational.

[JPH83]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

So you doubt Andy Reid?

I don't think Humphries plays in the playoffs. If Reid has said otherwise then I guess there's a good chance I'll be wrong!

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by JPH83

I don't think Humphries plays in the playoffs. If Reid has said otherwise then I guess there's a good chance I'll be wrong!

Reid has repeatedly said he prefers to have Thuney at LG during the playoffs. He's also said multiple times that they want to put DJ out there.

Why would he say either of those things if Thuney is clearly the better option at LT?

People are scared of taking risks. You don't get to where the Chiefs are now playing it safe.

If DJ is ready, he will play. If he's not, he won't. Andy said as much and who am I to second guess a coach with all those rings?

[TheGuardian]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

And yet Andy wants to start DJ.

Has he said that publicly?

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Eat shit in 2026 and draft Jeremiah Smith in the 2027 draft.

PROFIT!

Smith might be the best WR prospect since Julio Jones. Maybe since Calvin Johnson.

Shit, purely as a prospect he might be the best EVER by the time the draft gets here.

That kid doing what he's doing as a 19 year old true freshman is just damn near unheard of. It's generational.

He'd be the CLEAR #1 pick THIS YEAR.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

He'd be the CLEAR #1 pick THIS YEAR.

Yeah, I don't think you're wrong.

If a team like the Raiders came offering us a 2nd this year and a 1st in 2027 for our 1st this year, I'd probably take 'em up on it. Hell, I might even do it for a 3rd and the 2027 1st. (yes, this violates my "don't want to use a 1st on a redshirt rule - I get that, I just really like Jeremiah Smith).

Loading up on high ceiling picks in the 2027 draft to try to make a run at Smith is not a bad idea.

You put him and Mahomes together and when the history books are written, I think HE'D be the name you think of alongside PM rather than Kelce. And Tyreek would be completely lost to history.

Because those two guys playing together for 8-10 years could very possible re-write some records. Rice's numbers are so damn strange that they defy even considering, but could a guy like Smith who has a QB like Mahomes for the bulk of his career get at/near the 17,500 yards that Fitzgerald put up in a passing era with 17 game seasons?

Yeah, he could. Easily. And Mahomes could also easily be the triggerman for 12,000+ of those yards.

[JPH83]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Reid has repeatedly said he prefers to have Thuney at LG during the playoffs. He's also said multiple times that they want to put DJ out there.

Why would he say either of those things if Thuney is clearly the better option at LT?

People are scared of taking risks. You don't get to where the Chiefs are now playing it safe.

If DJ is ready, he will play. If he's not, he won't. Andy said as much and who am I to second guess a coach with all those rings?

Could be right, but if this is based on whether DJ is ready, or Reid thinks he is, I'd imagine not, based on how he's played. Guess we'll see.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

And the 're-set' year might suck a bit.

It would be a good year to pump some money into PMs pocket to 'thank' him for being a good soldier over the previous years when we needed cap space.

It might be a good year to clean up some cap, though we really don't have any bloat to speak of. Probably Taylor. But it could help you clear the decks for some big money years for guys like McDuffie, Rice, Worthy, maybe Karlaftis.

2026 or 2027 may just be a bit of a lost year for us.

I just don’t see it man.

Andy, Patrick, Spags, Veach

If we keep those guys I think we’ll be just fine. The coaching job these guys have done the last 2 years on offense has been incredible. Makeshift LT, piss poor WR’s in 2023, top WR’s injured in 2024. Spags as well has done a great job hiding deficiencies on defense (looking at you Bryan Cook).

If we lose one those guys it’s a different story obviously, but if we have those guys I have full faith. And sure we’ll lose Kelce and Jones soon. Not quite worried about Kelce considering Andy’s work with TE’s and the emmergence of Worthy and Rice.

The biggest threat besides losing one of them is the division. Unfortunately the Broncos and Chargers are gonna have a lot of money to spend. One of them could win 11-12 games next year or the year after.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by JPH83

Could be right, but if this is based on whether DJ is ready, or Reid thinks he is, I'd imagine not, based on how he's played. Guess we'll see.

The bottom line is this.

The Chiefs have traded up in almost every draft since Mahomes got here. They've traded away star players. They've spent big in free agency. The Chiefs don't do "safe".

If DJ plays, it's because they think he can. If they stay with Thuney, it's because they think that's the best option. There's literally nothing here to worry about. Unless you don't have faith in Andy and his staff. There really isn't an argument to be had. You either trust this team or you don't.

And that's where all this Thuney talk is coming from. Fear and a lack of trust.

[New World Order]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Reid has repeatedly said he prefers to have Thuney at LG during the playoffs. He's also said multiple times that they want to put DJ out there.

Why would he say either of those things if Thuney is clearly the better option at LT?

People are scared of taking risks. You don't get to where the Chiefs are now playing it safe.

If DJ is ready, he will play. If he's not, he won't. Andy said as much and who am I to second guess a coach with all those rings?

DJ is ready. He played.

Andy will go with whomever is the better tackle option.

[Wallcrawler]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The bottom line is this.

The Chiefs have traded up in almost every draft since Mahomes got here. They've traded away star players. They've spent big in free agency. The Chiefs don't do "safe".

If DJ plays, it's because they think he can. If they stay with Thuney, it's because they think that's the best option. There's literally nothing here to worry about. Unless you don't have faith in Andy and his staff. There really isn't an argument to be had. You either trust this team or you don't.

And that's where all this Thuney talk is coming from. Fear and a lack of trust.

Exactly. We didn't bring this dude in to sit. Everyone is in awe of Thuney at LT being pretty much the floor for the position. Don't give up instant kills on Mahomes that Wanya and Kingsley were doing. If you're gonna get beat die slowly.

Thuney dies slow enough at LT that Pat has an actual opportunity to throw, but it's definitely not pretty.

It's impressive because he's a guard making that switch. But he's not Willie Roaf out there. Kingsley and Wanya were so ****ing terrible that he looks like Roaf by comparison.

DJ should be able to easily replicate what Thuney has done at LT, which is give us the floor production of a starting left tackle.

Thuney moving back to LG, where he's one of the best in the world, helps the entire line out.

[DJ's left nut]

One thing we really haven't spoken much about is the type of rusher we're likely to face going forward.

Chargers -- Mack and Bosa; Tart and Ford from the interior
Buffalo -- Rousseau, Miller; Oliver and Jones from the inside
Houston -- Hunter and Anderson; nothing much from the interior
Baltimore -- Van Noy and Oweh; Madubuike and Jones from the interior

As I look at those guys, don't most of them win with power more than speed? Miller is almost pure speed, Mack and Bosa are more power than speed at this point in their careers. Hunter is a bit of both, Anderson mostly speed. Van Noy and Oweh, by nature of their rush scheme, are mostly power. Rousseau is a poor man's Hunter in that he's a bit of both.

But I don't see anyone on that list like Bonitto, for instance -- a real speed merchant. Or Garrett (though Hunter is close).

Then look at how they line up. Bosa is essentially a pure left side guy at this point so I'd probably write him off. Von Miller has been left side only so I'd likely write him off. Van Noy is VERY heavy to the left side; not worth making a lineup decision around.

So when I'm looking at the challenges my LT is going to face it really starts to narrow down:

Mack, Rousseau, Oweh and then Anderson/Hunter are almost completely interchangeable.

Shouldn't that really end up making the decision in large part? Especially when most of those teams also have pretty dangerous power rushers that can get at our interior (i.e. Caliendo) with Tart, Oliver, Madibuike and Jones?

My biggest worry would be Houston in that regard in that Anderson could just give Humphries fits if he's struggling with speed. But against the rest of them, power is likely to be their biggest asset. Oweh is pretty explosive but w/ the 3-4 alignment, I don't think Thuney's any more likely to be able to kick out on him and catch him than Humphries is. You're going to need some help to his side either way so having a stronger interior to shut down Jones/Madibuike would be pretty big.

With Humphries looking better against power rushers (again, that's traits based, but Humphries looks to have a REALLY stout base), 3 of the 4 teams were likely to face seem to suggest that getting Humphries out to LT with Thuney in at LG would be a better overall protection scheme.

And against Houston...well like I said, I barely even give a shit. We'll roll those guys either way. Houston seems like the one team where I'd pretty strongly prefer Thuney's aggression at LT, especially since I don't really have any worries about them getting to us from the interior. But if we play Houston and Thuney is your guy at LT, that's it - that's where he stays. Even in the AFCCG and SB. So I might still be willing to roll the dice believing that I don't NEED to have things perfect to smoke them and hoping that it provides another data point for the AFCCG decision.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

One thing we really haven't spoken much about is the type of rusher we're likely to face going forward.

Chargers -- Mack and Bosa; Tart and Ford from the interior
Buffalo -- Rousseau, Miller; Oliver and Jones from the inside
Houston -- Hunter and Anderson; nothing much from the interior
Baltimore -- Van Noy and Oweh; Madubuike and Jones from the interior

As I look at those guys, don't most of them win with power more than speed? Miller is almost pure speed, Mack and Bosa are more power than speed at this point in their careers. Hunter is a bit of both, Anderson mostly speed. Van Noy and Oweh, by nature of their rush scheme, are mostly power. Rousseau is a poor man's Hunter in that he's a bit of both.

But I don't see anyone on that list like Bonitto, for instance -- a real speed merchant. Or Garrett (though Hunter is close).

Then look at how they line up. Bosa is essentially a pure left side guy at this point so I'd probably write him off. Von Miller has been left side only so I'd likely write him off. Van Noy is VERY heavy to the left side; not worth making a lineup decision around.

So when I'm looking at the challenges my LT is going to face it really starts to narrow down:

Mack, Rousseau, Oweh and then Anderson/Hunter are almost completely interchangeable.

Shouldn't that really end up making the decision in large part? Especially when most of those teams also have pretty dangerous power rushers that can get at our interior (i.e. Caliendo) with Tart, Oliver, Madibuike and Jones?

My biggest worry would be Houston in that regard in that Anderson could just give Humphries fits if he's struggling with speed. But against the rest of them, power is likely to be their biggest asset. Oweh is pretty explosive but w/ the 3-4 alignment, I don't think Thuney's any more likely to be able to kick out on him and catch him than Humphries is. You're going to need some help to his side either way so having a stronger interior to shut down Jones/Madibuike would be pretty big.

With Humphries looking better against power rushers (again, that's traits based, but Humphries looks to have a REALLY stout base), 3 of the 4 teams were likely to face seem to suggest that getting Humphries out to LT with Thuney in at LG would be a better overall protection scheme.

And against Houston...well like I said, I barely even give a shit. We'll roll those guys either way. Houston seems like the one team where I'd pretty strongly prefer Thuney's aggression at LT, especially since I don't really have any worries about them getting to us from the interior. But if we play Houston and Thuney is your guy at LT, that's it - that's where he stays. Even in the AFCCG and SB. So I might still be willing to roll the dice believing that I don't NEED to have things perfect to smoke them and hoping that it provides another data point for the AFCCG decision.

Rousseau, in particular, seems like a really tough matchup for Thuney, because he's so long and is good at converting speed to power.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Rousseau, in particular, seems like a really tough matchup for Thuney, because he's so long and is good at converting speed to power.

Yeah - I'd like to have a better foundation to have that conversation because I think I kinda know what some of them are based on watching them vs. us and then the occasional national game.

But if someone where to show me that Mack is still shitting and getting off the edge, I'd absolutely take that into account. And so insight like yours w/r/t Rousseau is interesting to me.

I'm open to being corrected on any of my surface level stuff there. Especially my thoughts on the 3-4 (I just really feel like Humphries style of getting back and setting a pocket should work better than Thuney trying to get out and attack someone like Oweh out of an odd front) -- I may be completely out to lunch there. Especially since I believe Denver works from a 3-4 primarily and Humphries had some issues.

Mostly I was just pondering a working theory and I type fast so I figured I'd put pen to paper and see what anyone had to offer.