Draft Darlings: Tyler Guyton could be the guy for Kansas City

The Oklahoma offensive tackle has everything the Chiefs are looking for

The NFL Draft will kick off on Thursday of this week, providing the Kansas City Chiefs with an opportunity to reload their roster. The Chiefs need offensive tackle depth, and there is speculation that they could draft the position’s future in the first round.

Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton will fall into the group of players that the Chiefs could take at pick 32 in the first round, and for very good reason.

With quick feet, natural power, an extraordinary athletic profile and the ability to play both sides of the line, Guyton will be a player Chiefs fans should keep an eye on come draft day.

Intangibles

Guyton is one of the most physically intimidating players in this draft class. The big man has elite size and arm length for the position.

Sometimes larger athletes can have trouble moving fluidly, but Guyton — a former defensive lineman and tight end — moves very well for his frame and even has a good explosion.

A 43.5-inch vertical jump and 1.76 10-yard split give him the green light on two of the most important athletic tests, while his 7.5 3-cone drill shows off his impressive ability to move quickly in short confines.

Guyton’s testing is impressive, and he backs it up with his film.

Pass protection

Guyton may be large, but he moves compactly for his size and is efficient in his pass sets.

In vertical pass protection, he wastes no motion while driving off his inside foot and sliding with his outside foot.

Guyton explodes out of his stance and stays mostly square to the line of scrimmage. As the edge rusher approaches him, Guyto is patient and waits till the last second before throwing his hands to stop the rush.

The edge hits Guyton like he hit a wall, and Guyton can anchor down and lock on the end of the rush. Guyton needs to work on his initial strike with his hands— he tends to place them too often without much power— but that will come with time as he improves his technique.

Guyton has tons of power and length to be a solid protector, but what could set him apart from his peers is his ability to move laterally along the line of scrimmage.

On the snap, the edge rusher over Guyton quickly darts inside and tries to penetrate the B gap. Guyton was preparing to drop into a vertical set, but once the edge heads inside, he quickly redirects his weight off his outside foot and slides inside.

He quickly cuts off the edge rusher’s path and even creates the needed space for the quarterback to scramble.

Guyton makes this look smooth and easy, but in reality, multiple NFL-caliber linemen struggle with it. It can be challenging for larger players to re-direct quickly inside, but Guyton shows tremendous footwork and body control to pull it off.

Run blocking

When Guyton moves forward, he generates a lot of momentum, which can often lead to defenders being displaced from the line of scrimmage.

On the snap, Guyton takes a quick inside step just to protest and change direction and quickly fires out toward the edge. With good pad level — for being so tall — he knocks the edge nearly off his feet and generates a tremendous amount of force with the initial contact.

Guyton also shows the needed “triple extension” flexibility between his ankles, knees and hips to be able to sink into an athletic position and then fire all three joints at once to create as much power as possible.

Guyton throws his weight around well and excels on down-blocks and in double teams.

Guyton does a good job of getting his head across the body of the defensive tackle — and using good leverage, he drives him out of the B-gap and opens a massive hole for the running back to operate.

Guyton brings plenty of fire and anger along with the rest of his game, and this tenacity could be what makes him attractive to a team like Kansas City.

Fit with Kansas City

The Chiefs need tackle depth, and Guyton should be there for them in the first round if that is the direction they decide to go.

With elite size and, more importantly, arm length, Guyton has the intangibles that will have scouts and coaches drooling, with Andy Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck being no exception.

The Chiefs are also no stranger to drafting Oklahoma offensive linemen, having drafted Creed Humphrey in 2021 and Wanya Morris last season.

Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh is one of the best in the business at developing pro talent and has had 10 players drafted from 2015-23, with Guyton slotted to be the 11th this cycle.

The familiar training ground and required intangibles are there, but the Chiefs will also be paying attention to the little things in Guyton’s game. He has good foot quickness and the natural bend of an NFL tackle.

Guyton has also only been a true offensive lineman since 2022. During the early stages of his career at TCU, before transferring to Oklahoma, he played along the defensive line before moving to tight end in 2021.

What he has accomplished in only two seasons of playing tackle in a Power Five conference is impressive, and it seems likely that he will continue to develop his game.

Guyton may not be a Day 1 starter, but an important part of player evaluation is being able to project long-term. He will become a long-term NFL starter in the right environment with the correct coaching.

In what many consider a loaded offensive line class, Guyton could be one of the best.