alt=Jay DrewCoach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs wanted BYU left tackle Kingsley Suamataia so badly in the second round of the NFL draft Friday night that they were willing to trade up to get him.
Well, only by one spot — but it’s the thought that counts, right?
The Super Bowl champions grabbed the 6-foot-5, 326-pound Oregon transfer with the No. 63 overall pick, the second-to-last pick of the second round, swapping draft order with the San Francisco 49ers to get Suamataia.
Did the Chiefs somehow know that the 49ers wanted Suamataia, too? San Francisco then took Renardo Green, a cornerback from Florida State, with the 64th overall pick and final pick of the second round.
At any rate, the pick had to bring a sigh of relief to the normally softspoken Suamataia, who was generally believed to be a late first round or mid-second round pick in most mock drafts.
“A lot of emotions, a lot of crying,” is the way Suamataia described his reaction to finally getting the phone call. “It feels like you can breathe again.”
“I think I am going to fit perfectly. I will come in as a rookie and get ready to work. Wherever coach Andy (Reid) needs me at, I can play both ways, right and left (tackle), so wherever they can fit me in, I am willing to do whatever it takes to get a (starting) job.”
— Kingsley Suamataia
Suamataia on the Zoom call with reporters who cover the Chiefs was more excited, more animated than this reporter has ever seen him, while continually giving thanks for the opportunity and “honor” the Chiefs are giving him to protect the franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“I think I am going to fit perfectly. I will come in as a rookie and get ready to work. Wherever coach Andy (Reid) needs me at, I can play both ways, right and left (tackle), so wherever they can fit me in, I am willing to do whatever it takes to get a (starting) job,” Suamataia said, while wearing a red and gold lei made by his grandmother.
Noted Matt Derrick, beat writer at ChiefsDigest.com, on X: “He won the press conference in a rout.”
Elation had followed temporary heartburn, because a couple of tackles who were projected to go after him were picked before him in the second round — Houston’s Patrick Paul (Dolphins), Notre Dame’s Blake Fisher (Texans) and Washington’s Roger Rosengarten (Ravens).
“Coach Andy Reid, he loves his BYU guys. It just felt like home already,” Suamataia said of his visit to Kansas City, while also already extolling the virtue of KC barbecue. “Talking to coach Reid, it felt like sitting at home talking to one of my uncles.”
Speaking of that Baltimore bypass, it would have been cool to see the Ravens pick Suamataia, if only because former Highland High and Oregon defensive tackle and fellow Utah-born Pacific Islander Haloti Ngata was making the announcement. And, of course, former BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy now stars for Baltimore’s defense.
But Suamataia, 21, would probably trade those moments of anxiety to hear his name called out by former Chiefs four-time pro bowler Jamaal Charles, even if the former Kansas City great butchered his last name, as most do.
The crew on ABC’s broadcast mentioned that Suamataia has “great athletic genes” and is the cousin of Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell, one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. They showed a picture of Suamataia and Sewell working out together at Orem High.
The broadcast also showed Suamataia with fellow Orem High product Puka Nacua who is now, of course, starring for the Los Angeles Rams. Rece Davis mentioned that “family is everything” to Suamataia. Boy, was he not kidding.
Suamataia told the Deseret News last week that he would watch the draft with family members only at his parents’ home in Orem, along with his future in-laws, the parents of his fiancee, former BYU women’s basketball star Nani Falatea. Hey Kansas-area coaches: She’s in the transfer portal, and she’s quite good.
BYU’s last three starting left tackles have now moved on to the NFL, as Suamataia follows 2021 pick Brady Christensen (Panthers) and 2023 pick Blake Freeland (Colts). It is quite a pipeline the Cougars have going to the NFL, and, fittingly, Suamataia joins a pipeline from BYU to the Chiefs, thanks to Reid, who always seems to be looking out for his former Cougars.
What are the Chiefs getting?
“This guy was a phenom from Day 1,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said last year. “I have known his family forever. He’s a great player, from a great family. He comes from a great lineage of wonderful people.”
From this perspective, the Chiefs are getting a solid player, a freak athlete and a gentle giant. Suamataia rarely makes mistakes, gets few penalties and plays within himself.
Suamataia allowed only two sacks in 701 pass-blocking snaps (via Pro Football Focus) in his two-year starting career at BYU, having played right tackle in 2022 and left tackle in 2023 when Freeland moved on to the NFL. He appeared in 23 games and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2023.
That versatility will serve Suamataia well as he becomes a “swing tackle” for the Chiefs and competes with Wanya Morris for playing time and protects the best quarterback in the league, Patrick Mahomes. Jawaan Taylor is KC’s other starting tackle.
In a lengthy chat with Suamataia the week before the draft, I asked the big lineman if he had a favorite NFL team growing up. He declined to name one, not wanting to damage his chances with any club, but did say he patterned his game after his cousin, Penei Sewell, and Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles.
He said he just wanted to go to a team that “really, really wants me.”
The Chiefs showed that they did Friday night, and his grandmother already had the decorations ready.