Patrick Mahomes to have another new blindside protector vs. Chargers
12/08/2024 10:22 AM
The Kansas City Chiefs are once against one of the best teams in the NFL. Kansas City is 11-1 heading into Week 14 and has already clinched a playoff spot in the AFC. The Chiefs will have a new face on their offensive line for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.
The Chiefs plan to start left tackle D.J. Humphries against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport. Humphries will be the third blindside protector for QB Patrick Mahomes this season.
Kansas City signed Humphries on November 22nd with the goal of eventually starting him.
The 30-year-old veteran tackle is said to have looked good at Chiefs practice this week. Humphries is moving around well and has picked up Kansas City’s offensive system over the past few weeks.
Humphries will start over Wanya Morris and second-round rookie Kingsley Suamataia.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid seemed to give Humphries a vote of confidence when talking about his plans for the tackle position this week.
“I think, eventually, you want to get somebody in there that does a good job and really can stay in there and be that guy as we develop the young guys,” Reid said on Wednesday, per NFL.com. “You’re going to have some hiccups, we know that, we knew that going in. But we’ll see if D.J. can do that. (Either) he can do it. If he can’t, he can’t. So, we’ll see how it goes.”
Chiefs fans are hoping that Humphries plays better than Morris and Suamataia have this season.
Why Patrick Mahomes’ ‘cautious’ play style has been key to Chiefs’ dominance
Patrick Mahomes has been the best QB in the NFL for multiple seasons in a row.
Research from RG.org suggests that one reason behind Mahomes’ success with the Chiefs could be his cautious play. RG.org recently released data that suggests that QB caution has a significant correlation with team success in the NFL. The more cautious a team’s QB plays, the better they tend to perform.
Mahomes had the best score in the NFL for aggressiveness percentage, which attempts to capture the frequency of tight-window throws. Mahomes and other top NFL QBs ranked in the bottom five of this metric, hinting at their cautious play style.
Below are those top five QBs who have the lowest aggressiveness percentages.
- Patrick Mahomes – 10.17%
- Jared Goff – 12.31%
- Lamar Jackson – 13.21%
- Josh Allen – 13.64%
- Derek Carr – 14.25%
Other talented NFL QBs like Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, and Kirk Cousins rounded out the top 10.
There certainly seems to be something to this research. Mahomes has always been careful with the football, never throwing more than 14 interceptions in a season in his career. That is impressive considering how many yards Mahomes has put up over the years, including multiple 5,000+ yard seasons.
Hopefully the Chiefs can ride Mahomes’ cautious play all the way to a third consecutive Super Bowl victory.
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