In what has been a long time coming, the Kansas City Chiefs are finally putting a high emphasis on rebuilding the offensive line this off-season. One of the key moves that General Manager Brett Veach has made so far, was bringing in former Los Angeles Rams center Austin Blythe to Kansas City.
Blythe is making himself right at home in K.C. and is already building relationships with his new teammates. The Chiefs signed two other o-linemen – Kyle Long and Joe Thuney – this offseason prior to signing Blythe. When adding multiple new players, sometimes team chemistry tends to be a concern and that becomes even more of an emphasis when you circle in on a specific group such as the offensive line.
When it comes to run-blocking and pass protection, everyone needs to be in sync because if one guy misses a step, it can easily spell disaster for an offensive unit, whether it be for one play or an entire game. That’s why it’s important for teammates on the o-line to get to know one another, and that’s just what Kansas City’s newly acquired center is doing.
“I think it’ll be fine,” Blythe said. “Continuity and communication and friendship and all that stuff is an important part for playing well together. I don’t foresee any problems, I’ve gotten in contact with a couple of guys already and I’m just really excited to get to work with everybody here.”
Another member on offense that the 28-year-old center met with was quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Although Blythe started all 16 games in 2020 with the Rams, it’s currently unclear if he’ll be the Chiefs’ starting center. However, he’s perfectly aware of the likelihood that he’ll be working very closely with Mahomes.
“Yeah, I actually just met Patrick (Mahomes) in the training room here on this visit,” Blythe said. “He seems like a great guy and I’m really excited to work with him. As far as the communication and camaraderie go between the center and the quarterback, I think that it’s very important. I think the offense kind of goes how that relationship goes. So being able to communicate well together is going to be something that’s going to be very important. And, again, I don’t foresee any problems there.”
It still may take a few games going into the regular season before Kansas City’s offensive line eventually gels together. In the end, only time will tell, but it appears the chemistry within is off to a great.
