In 2021, the Kansas City Chiefs made a massive gamble on their interior offensive line.
The Chiefs signed left guard Joe Thuney to the highest contract a guard has ever received, but they went with rookies next to Thuney. Center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith were tasked with instantly starting for the Chiefs. That’s a tall task for any pair of rookies — but especially when you have to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Yet their rookie seasons couldn’t have gone better.
Humphrey was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded center and Smith made a career’s worth of highlights in both the running and passing game.