ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Late in the 2020 season, the Kansas City Chiefs ran out of right tackles.
Veteran right tackle Mike Remmers, who already was starting in place of injured starter Mitchell Schwartz, left a mid-December game at Miami with a back injury.
With no other options, the Chiefs turned to right guard Andrew Wylie for the remainder of the season, starting with a key showdown at New Orleans.
“In that game, I was just playing guard on the outside,” Wylie said. “Now, my game has a lot more to it at right tackle.”
Wylie finished up the 2020 season as Kansas City’s starting right tackle, including during a Super Bowl LV loss at Tampa Bay.
He was called on again at right tackle last season when Lucas Niang got injured midseason, missing a month of games, then suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Wylie remained a work in progress at the tackle spot, filling in for Niang, but he no longer considers himself a miscast guard.
“I’m very comfortable out there,” Wylie said. “Now, I’m just taking this time in camp to add more to the right-tackle game — switching up sets, getting more comfortable. But it’s a comfortable position for me.”
Wylie said he continued to work at guard during the offseason to “remain that versatile piece” and he didn’t dramatically change his approach to nutrition or workouts, but entered free agency as a tackle and appears to be in line to start at right tackle for the Chiefs this season with Niang still sidelined.
With that in mind, Wylie said he was highly critical of his game film at right tackle, a hallmark of the offensive-line room and position coaches when evaluating performance.
He’s working on staying square when blocking and properly targeting his punch among other things.
“I can see the defense a lot better now too, so I’ve grown a lot out at right tackle and it’s very comfortable for me,” Wylie said.
He didn’t put added pressure on himself despite moving positions and heading into 2022 as the presumed starter, but he understands that there’s a lot on the shoulders of the Chiefs’ offensive line.
“We’re expected to go out there and kick a lot of ass this year,” Wylie said. “We’ve got a great O line.”
He’s ready to do his part.
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