The Kansas City Chiefs’ storyline of the 2026 season revolves heavily around Patrick Mahomes’ recovery. While Mahomes tackled an aggressive offseason rehab, the Chiefs also got a brutal take on their key offensive piece, Trey Smith, ahead of the upcoming season.
Chiefs Receive Tough Trey Smith Assessment Ahead of 2026 Season
With the 2026 NFL training camps approaching, ESPN polled more than 70 league executives, coaches, and scouts to rank the NFL’s top 10 players across 11 different positions. Voters submitted ballots for at least one position, while many evaluated every position, and the survey placed Smith as the seventh-best interior offensive lineman in the league.
It is a drop from Smith’s No. 4 ranking the previous year. While he continues to be respected for his physical playing style and dominance at guard, Jeremy Fowler revealed that “several voters said he had a down year in 2025.”
Smith had been remarkably durable during his first four seasons in Kansas City, starting 67 of 68 regular-season games while also making 13 postseason starts. Injuries disrupted that consistency last season, as back issues and an ankle injury limited him to just 12 appearances.
The two-time Pro Bowler remained reliable in pass protection, as he did not allow a single sack over 389 pass-blocking snaps and earned a 75.0 impact score on PFN’s Player OL Impact Metric, ranking 113th in the league. One veteran NFL defensive coach told ESPN that Smith showed vulnerabilities last season.
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“You can knock him back in the pocket or beat him backward,” the coach said. “That’s how we felt last year.”
Keeping aside last season’s seatback, Smith continues to be seen as one of the NFL’s premier run blockers. League executives and scouts have long praised his combination of strength, physicality, and ability to overwhelm defenders when healthy.
Smith has focused heavily on improving his conditioning and recovery this offseason, training with NEUFit to enhance his nervous system performance, rehabilitation, and overall durability ahead of the new campaign.
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“He’s a really good foundational piece,” an NFC executive told ESPN. “Raw power sets a tone. There just aren’t many like him.”
Andy Reid’s team reaffirmed their belief in Smith by signing him to a four-year, $94 million contract extension last offseason. The deal included $46.75 million in fully guaranteed amounts, $70 million in total guarantees, and a $17 million signing bonus. He also has yearly workout bonuses starting in 2026 and is now the second-highest-paid guard behind Tyler Smith of the Dallas Cowboys.
Kansas City’s long-term plan has centered around building its offensive line with Smith and center Creed Humphrey as the foundation.
If Smith rebounds to the form that made him one of the league’s elite guards before 2025, he can once again anchor the unit at an All-Pro level, but the opposite will cause the Chiefs’ interior protection to become a major vulnerability.
