Joe Thuney answered the call to play left tackle in the regular season. Now, the Super Bowl awaits

2YPT5RM November 29, 2024: Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney (62) is introduced before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. David Smith/CSM/Sipa USA (Credit Image: © David Smith/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA) Credit: Sipa US/Alamy Live News

  • Joe Thuney is set to play left tackle in Super Bowl 59: Thuney switched to protecting Patrick Mahomes' blind side mid-season and now will do it on football's biggest stage.
  • Thuney had previously excelled at left guard: He earned a 90.4 PFF pass-blocking grade at guard in the regular season, which led the position.

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes


Joe Thuney has been a mainstay of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ frequent Super Bowl runs, just in different roles.

Two years ago, he played left guard against the Philadelphia Eagles and earned a 76.0 PFF overall grade, which ranked fourth highest on the Chiefs' offense. Last year, he was inactive for the Super Bowl with a knee injury. And this year, in Super Bowl 59, he is expected to play left tackle after he moved from left guard toward the end of the regular season.

Thuney’s position change is probably not discussed enough. The NC State product played only 82 snaps at left tackle over the first eight seasons of his career before 2024. This year, he played 333 snaps at the position, all coming after Thanksgiving. The Chiefs first experimented with Thuney playing on the outside at the end of their Black Friday game against the Raiders.

Joe Thuney: 2024 Snap Counts by Position
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While it has not been always perfect, Thuney gave the Chiefs better play at a crucial position than they had earlier in the season. Over the first 14 weeks of the season, Kansas City's left tackles combined to earn a 47.9 PFF overall grade, which ranked 31st in the NFL. Thuney has also become better at the position over time, culminating in an AFC Championship game in which he earned a 73.2 PFF overall grade and an 89.2 PFF pass-blocking grade after he did not allow a single pressure against the Bills.

Not giving up pressure in a game is something Thuney knows a lot about. Kansas City’s left guard did not surrender a single pressure between Week 7 and Week 12, despite needing to pass block on 269 plays throughout those six games. During that span, he earned a league-leading 94.8 PFF pass-blocking grade. He earned a 90.4 PFF pass-blocking grade at guard in the regular season, which led the position.

Thuney's excellence on the interior brings up an interesting discussion: Should the Chiefs consider moving him inside, where his presence could allow center Creed Humphrey to frequently slide to his right to help Trey Smith against Jalen Carter? Or should Kansas City just trust him to take care of quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ blind side as a left tackle? Either way, if Thuney can cap a season in which he demonstrated an elite level of play and versatility with a strong performance and another Super Bowl title, he needs to be talked about as a potential future Hall of Famer more often.

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