NEW ORLEANS – Future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees are all over the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles this week.
Definitely, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and coach Andy Reid. They’re ticketed for gold jackets, even without another championship.
Probably, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. If he can stay healthy into his 30s, he will merit the honor.
Possibly, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones. A three-time champion whose numbers don’t illustrate his dominance.
But you’re missing one name who will play in Sunday night’s Super Bowl: Chiefs usual left guard/current left tackle Joe Thuney.
Chiefs left tackle Joe Thuney blocks Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau during the AFC championship game last month.
Thuney, 32, has been that durable, consistent and good since entering the NFL with New England in 2016 as a third-round draft pick.
A thumbnail sketch of Thuney’s accomplishments: First player to start in the Super Bowl in his initial three years. … Will play in his sixth Super Bowl, tied for second-most in history with Mike Lodish and behind only Tom Brady (10). ... A Chiefs win would be his fifth ring, tied for second all-time with Charles Haley and behind only Brady (seven). … Will become the first player to twice play in three consecutive Super Bowls.
Get all that?
And see why I’m putting him in the Hall of Fame conversation?
Winning follows him.
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“The dude is one of the best offensive linemen in the league,” Chiefs center Creed Humphrey said.
And one of the most versatile and selfless, granting Reid’s request late in the season to start taking left tackle reps after Wanya Morris and D.J. Humphries didn’t work out.
“As a coach, you start wondering, ‘OK, are we putting the guys in the right spot? Are we being real with what’s going on, and how do we fix it?’ ” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “Joe’s one of the best guards in the league, and we moved him to one of the hardest positions in the league and (said), ‘Go be successful.’ He did that.”
There were conversations galore. Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck. Reid, Heck and Nagy. Reid and Thuney. And Heck and Thuney.
“It was just a matter of, ‘Joe, we’re going to roll you over to left tackle, and Mike (Caliendo), you’re at left guard,’ ” Heck told me Wednesday morning at the Chiefs’ hotel.
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By moving over one position, Thuney entered a new world.
“You’re out in so much more space and you’re blocking different styles of guys,” he said. “You’re trying to deal with that in big acres of space that it feels like you have (to block).”
Acres is an appropriate word. Playing guard is like a play-to-play fistfight. Yes, players need to lean on their fundamentals such as footwork and hand placement, but they have to have a little – or maybe a lot – of junkyard dog in them. It’s a mess in there.
Tackle is a different deal. The kick-step at the snap. The ability to operate in road environments when the snap count and adjustments may sound garbled. And the need to block with equal parts speed and power, sometimes on the same snap.
No matter. Thuney has been a boon for the Chiefs at left tackle. Late in the regular season, he saw time against Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. In the playoffs, he looked the part against Houston and Buffalo.
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Just in the first drive against the Bills in the AFC championship game, Thuney blocked defensive tackles DaQuan Jones and Ed Oliver and picked up blitzing linebacker Terrel Bernard.
“As an (offensive) lineman, you want to be out there, regardless,” Thuney said. “Happy to play anywhere.”
That was confirmed at North Carolina State, where Thuney started games at both guard and tackle spots. Once he joined the Patriots, he was an instant starter at left guard, never missing a game in four years. He signed with Kansas City in 2021 and has missed two games in four years.
In the last five years, Thuney has been first- and second-team All Pro two times apiece. If he moves back to guard next year, he can continue his Hall of Fame path. And if he’s asked again to play left tackle in a pinch, he will have weeks of valuable snaps to lean on.
Canvassing the interview room Tuesday morning, it was clear how much respect the Chiefs have for Thuney.
“It’s been very impressive on a couple of levels,” Heck said. “One – and you would expect this of a guy like Joe and expect of an offensive lineman, period – is the team-first mentality. You’re telling a guy, ‘We’re going to move you from a position you are highly successful at.’ Joe didn’t bat an eye. And (second), to go out and do an admirable job at a position that isn’t necessarily his best, it speaks to his ability and professionalism. And now that he’s had a few games under his belt, you see him improving week-to-week.”
Said Nagy: “Joe Thuney. What a stud.”
