The 2025 NFL Mock Draft has a good player, wrong logic with Emery Jones Jr. to the KC Chiefs

In recent years, the Kansas City Chiefs have made a habit of investing on the offensive line in the NFL Draft. It makes a lot of sense to protect the game's most valuable asset, and we see the franchise ensuring Patrick Mahomes' safety as the 2024 season begins.

However, the offensive tackle position still has some questions to answer moving forward. The left side in particular has not stabilized after just a few games this year. Rookie second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia has already been traded in favor of Wanya Morris, who lost the battle for the starting spot over the summer.

Despite the uncertain left tackle situation in Kansas City, a recent 2025 NFL mock draft appears to have more concerns about it Right side of the line. In a simulation for Sports NewsVinnie Iyer sends Emery Jones from LSU to the Chiefs at the end of the first round, albeit under strange circumstances.

“The Chiefs cannot continue with Jawaan Taylor’s penalty malfunction at right tackle in front of Patrick Mahomes,” Iyer wrote. “Jones can eliminate that with his improved pass protection and natural run blocking to help Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith.”

The problem here is more with the logic than the player, and it's not particularly close. First and foremost, Taylor has been very good at protecting the pass this season, and Kansas City will go through the penalty battles with him. He's not going anywhere at the moment. This is especially true given his contract situation for next year, as the 27-year-old has $20 million in guaranteed money and a $24.725 million cap hit. The reigning Super Bowl champions would take a dead cap hit of nearly $30 million if they cut Taylor in the offseason, so it's just not going to happen. The closest reasonable cut date would be before the 2026 campaign.

Second, Smith may not be in Kansas City in a year. The former sixth-round pick is well above his rookie deal and will have no shortage of suitors in the spring. If Smith enters free agency without an extension, it will be difficult for the Chiefs to keep him. While this is possible, it is far from a certainty.

Jones himself is a very good candidate. At 6-foot-10 and 300 pounds, he has the size to be a success on Kansas City's offensive line, and he's coming off a season in which he was a finalist for the Joe Moore Offensive Line of the Year” ended. The second-team All-SEC selection has racked up just over 1,000 snaps for the Tigers over the past two years, with nearly all of them coming at right tackle. He is a long, strong and physical player suitable for many attacks. Other than that, his deficiencies seem to relate to playing on an island and/or dealing with speed rushers. That, combined with questionable balance and lack of actual or current experience at left tackle, makes him a less of a home run pick.

Jones is widely considered a first-round prospect in next year's draft and would undoubtedly help bolster the Chiefs' top five if he were available. However, this is not for any of the reasons mentioned in the spot.

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