We’ll be breaking down all the major and minor moves for NFL Free Agency with grades and analysis. You can find the comprehensive list of moves and grades here.
Reported deal: Five years/$80 million with $48 million guaranteed
With Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz released, the Kansas City Chiefs were in need of some offensive line help this offseason. The clear hole with those two gone appeared to be at tackle, but the Chiefs aggressively went after former Patriot Joe Thuney for help at guard.
Other free agent deals have yet to reset their respective positional marklets, but this Thuney deal blows through what guards have made in the past. Thuney is set to average $16 million over the course of the deal, which is significantly more than the $14 million average given out to Brandon Brooks and Zach Martin.
Thuney hasn’t missed a game since he came into the league in 2016. He’s a good pass blocker and is one of the best run blockers in the league. Last season, Thuney had the eighth-lowest pass blown-block rate and second-lowest run blown block rate among guards, according to Sports Info Solutions.
Like the Bills, the Chiefs were an incredible pass-heavy offense that was much better blocking for the pass than against the run. Per ESPN. Kansas City ranked sixth in Pass Block Win Rate as a team but 31st in Run Block Win Rate.
Last season, the Chiefs had the worst run offense in power situations, according to Football Outsiders. That includes runs on third or fourth down with two or fewer yards to go. Clearly, it’s not great to have a first-round running back and need market-busting help on the interior for those situations, but Thuney will be a helpful piece in every aspect of the game.
Thuney alone won’t solve offensive line issues with so many questions still unanswered, but it’s a pretty good starting point to work around.
Grade: B+
