The Kansas City Chiefs have a new player in town after Brett Veach acquired OL Joshua Ezeudu in trade. Who does this move hurt and who does it help?
The Kansas City
Chiefs got a head start on improving their roster for the 2026 NFL season.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach struck a deal with the New York Giants to acquire offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu for a 2028 seventh-round draft pick
. This comes as Kansas City looks to cement its offensive line depth with a versatile player
who can play both the right guard and right tackle positions.
All of Ezeudu's NFL experience comes at left guard and left tackle, but he played exclusively right guard and right tackle during the 2026 preseason. He comes to Kansas City from a system that was in K.C. just a season ago with offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, now the offensive coordinator for New York. Through 45 pass-blocking snaps, Ezeudu surrendered no pressures this preseason. He's bouncing back from a 2025 calf injury that saw him miss the entire year on injured reserve.
Who will this move benefit in Kansas City, and who will it potentially hurt? Here's a quick breakdown of the winners and losers of the trade.
Benson is perhaps the biggest winner of the trade. The Chiefs can now focus on having him exclusively play the offensive tackle position. He began this offseason as the team's starting right tackle, but with Trey Smith
injured, Kansas City shifted him to right guard during training camp and the preseason. When Josh Simmons
got injured, he moved back to right tackle.
"Yeah, so we've kind of moved this kid all over the place, and (T Kahlil Benosn) he did some good things," Andy Reid said of Benson on Monday. "He's got some things he's got to work on, but you can see the talent there. He opened the gate a couple times on his drop, but he's got a lot of talent, and the want to. He wants to do the right things; he's got the ability to do it. It's just getting these reps. We went silent count, too. So, which was new to him, and so he was late off the ball a couple times, but all of that he banks, and it'll be important once we start the season for him."
Splitting time during training camp and the preseason is valuable for scenarios where he might have to shift inside. However, it had Benson focused away from what the Chiefs really need him to be this season. That's the team's starting right tackle.
Now, he can hone in on that role, given that Ezeudu is a player who can fill in for Trey Smith at right guard. This also gives Benson breathing room if he struggles at any point. Kansas City now has a backup plan with real NFL game experience who can slot in at tackle. One that isn't Jaylon Moore
, who has had his own struggles and seems better suited for the left tackle position.
The starting quarterback is also a winner here. Mahomes is coming back from a season-ending knee injury, and there have been a lot of questions this offseason about his protection. I think what's clear is that when Josh Simmons, Kingsley Suamataia , Creed Humphrey , and Trey Smith are all healthy, the Chiefs have four out of five quality starters. The unit has potential to be a top-15 group through those four spots alone.
Figuring out the right tackle spot is important, and this feels like a move that can help them do that. It's also a move that can further substantiate the depth and take the team away from the usual suspects who haven't been good enough over the last three seasons. Mike Caliendo , for instance, is a guy the Chiefs know well at this point. He knows the system and the play calls, but he doesn't necessarily have the athletic attributes and prowess needed to find consistent success in the NFL. Pair him with an inexperienced right tackle as they did with Benson in preseason Week 2, and it spells disaster on the right side of the offensive line.
Kansas City needs someone with experience in that backup position. They've been looking for someone to fill that Nick Allegretti type role ever since he left in free agency. Now, it feels like Ezeudu can do that and provide the Chiefs with competent play in a pinch.
I'm listing Andy Heck as a winner here, but you could honestly list him as a loser as well. I think he's a winner because he no longer has to answer for the development, or lack thereof, of players on the interior offensive line. It's pretty clear that Hunter Nourzad 's best position is center. Additionally, C.J. Hanson , a guy who will always have a tough path to NFL success after playing at Holy Cross, just hasn't had enough opportunities.
Bringing in an outsider like Ezeudu who is experienced and can slot in at right guard or right tackle means Heck doesn't have to develop someone from the ground up. All he has to do is get Ezeudu caught up and up to speed in the system, working behind the current group of starters. If Heck can do that, all will be right, and he will probably avoid any deserved criticism.
Ezeudu will likely slot in as that fourth interior offensive lineman and potentially a swing tackle as well. Caliendo has provided the Chiefs with some good snaps and some bad snaps. This realistically should be the type of situation that pushes him off the 53-man roster. Maybe it gets him a role on the practice squad as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency depth situation.
For C.J. Hanson, Hunter Nourzad, and Josh Thompson, this is a clear signal to keep working. This last week of practice and preseason Week 3 could be the difference for one of those players. For guys like Jaylon Moore, Esa Pole , Ethan Driskell , Chu Godrick, and Kellen Diesch , it's also a signal flare. They've got another guy in the building who can play tackle.
I don't know whether this move affects Moore's standing with the team in 2026, but I think it will affect whether he's back with the team in 2027. If Ezeudu works out as a swing who can play both right guard and right tackle for Kansas City, I'd imagine Moore will not be re-signed. Especially at his $15 million average per year salary.
I wouldn't be shocked if these two compete for a single free-agent slot in the 2027 season. Ezeudu is on a cheap one-year deal right now at an estimated $1.1 million for the 2026 NFL season. Moore, on the other hand, hasn't slotted in as a starter at this point. He has been shaky at best as a swing offensive tackle for Kansas City. Whether he'll be able to ascend the ranks as a tackle for the Chiefs this season remains to be seen.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Kahlil Benson tops list of 3 winners and 2 losers from the Kansas City Chiefs' trade for Joshua Ezeudu
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