Film Review: Mike Remmers’ start at right tackle against Washington

We dive in to see how Mike Remmers handled a tough assignment while starting his first game of the season.

For Sunday’s 31-13 victory over the Washington Football Team, Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Mike Remmers was in the starting lineup for the first time since Super Bowl LV. Through the first five games of the season, rookie Lucas Niang had started at right tackle — but was reportedly replaced for Week 6 due to a hamstring issue.

Remmers is likely to start again on Sunday when the Chiefs face the Tennessee Titans. How did he fare against Washington?

This is not a great play — but it isn’t typical for Remmers through the game.

Chase Young gets Remmers here — but the most important thing we notice is that the veteran offensive lineman knows not to give up or panic. Remmers has help from fullback Michael Burton, which allows him to make up for his initial blunder by halting pressure so quarterback Patrick Mahomes can get the ball off at the last second.

This could have been a lot worse — but coaches had schemed up some help for Remmers.

Here we see Remmers working against Young in the running game. He gets some width on his swing while he utilizes a club move to gain leverage on the star edge rusher. You can see it isn’t easy to move Young around — but Remmers keeps working and finally gains position.

Throughout the game, Remmers did a nice job with second-level blocking — but here he is tasked with blocking at the line of scrimmage. If the ball gets out of Mahomes’ hands faster it neutralizes the pass rush — but the play takes too long, allowing Young to get there for the sack.

These reps cannot happen consistently. Ideally, you keep Mahomes clean 100% of the time — but when you are facing Young (and others like him), eventually you’ll see plays like this one.

As the game progressed, Remmers started to look more comfortable.

This is a nice rep where he is clearly locked in. Fundamentals are on full display; you can see the effort pop on film. Remmers’ kick-slide is on point while he stays active with his hands to keep Young at bay.

On this play, we see Remmers holding up nicely against a spin move. You can see him make a grab, but he lets go in time to avoid a penalty. Right before releasing the ball, Mahomes drifts toward the right side — so on this play, Remmers’ block is key.

Here’s a rare instance where Remmers has a negative snap as a run blocker. The defensive tackle sheds him with ease — sending him to the ground — and then stuffs the runner.

If Remmers had been able to stay on his block and drive the tackle back, this play would have gone for some more yards; even if you lose some leverage, you just can’t go to the turf.

On this play, Remmers clears out a lane for running back Darrel Williams, staying square until he gains leverage and then continuing to work his man out of the play.

While Remmers isn’t the Chiefs’ most athletically gifted offensive lineman, most of the time he is still a fundamentally sound blocker. And he looks much more natural on the right side than he did on the left during the Super Bowl.

The bottom line

For a first game back, it was a solid day for Remmers. While he showed some blemishes, overall it was a nice outing.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, Remmers needs to clean up some of the things we saw against Washington. After Week 7, the starter at right tackle isn’t set in stone — but right now, it’s Remmers’ job to lose. Against the Titans, he’ll be looking to firm his grasp on the position.