Andy Reid eyeing Lucas Niang as potential starter at LT for Chiefs
A healthy number of questions exist at offensive line for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason after the team released both Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher earlier in the year. And while head coach Andy Reid has not officially shut the door on either of those making a return, it appears that a particular name comes to mind for Reid should the Chiefs indeed be required to showcase a new starting left tackle in 2021.
According to a report from The Kansas City Star, Reid told reporters this week that second-year lineman Lucas Niang could be the one who takes over at starting left tackle if Kanas City can’t find a way to bring Fisher back this offseason. The former TCU standout, whom the Chiefs selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, has yet to play a snap in the NFL after deciding to opt out of his rookie season, though that didn’t stop Reid from praising the potential that Niang has showcased when Reid last saw him in person.
“We’re fitting that through, but we had aspirations of potentially moving Niang over to that spot,” Reid told The Star. “It looked like he had some potential for that when we had him last.”
A former three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite Player Rankings, the New Canaan, Connecticut, native took his talents to TCU after being regarded as the No. 3 player in the state and the No. 50 tackle in the nation for the 2016 recruiting cycle. After seeing action in all but one game as a true freshman in 2016, Niang started each of TCU’s final eight games in 2017 and retained the starting role through the remainder of his collegiate career. Niang did not allow a sack during the 2018 season, which saw him earn Second-Team All-Big 12 honors.
Projected by some ahead of the 2019 season as one of the top tackle prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft Class, Niang’s final collegiate season in 2019 was cut short when he elected to undergo a season-ending hip procedure following TCU’s upset victory over Texas that October.
Niang was one of five ex-Horned Frogs taken in the 2020 NFL Draft, a class highlighted by two first-round picks in wide receiver Jalen Reagor (No. 21 overall, Philadelphia) and Jeff Gladney (No. 31 overall, Minnesota). Defensive tackle Ross Blacklock (No. 40 overall, Texans) and cornerback Vernon Scott (No. 236 overall, Packers) also joined the group of TCU products to hear their names called during the draft.
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Kansas City, anchored by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, will be seeking a third straight trip to the Super Bowl during the 2021 season. The Chiefs captured their first title in 50 years when they defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl last February, but failed to repeat two months ago when the team fell to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
