The Kansas City Chiefs are fresh off a crushing Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, which ended the three-peat hopes for Patrick Mahomes and company. Still, there is hope for Kansas City, especially with Travis Kelce returning to the Chiefs in 2025.

While it could be the last season of the Mahomes-Kelce pairing, there are high expectations once again in 2025 for this team.

With the 2025 NFL Draft around the corner, the Chiefs hold the No. 31 overall pick, and plenty of names have been projected to the team.

In a new mock draft from ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., he had the Chiefs taking Ohio State star Josh Simmons at No. 31 overall.

‘If Simmons didn't injure his knee last October, we might not be having this conversation — because his projection might be closer to the top 10. He has really good footwork and power, and he gave up just one sack over 19 career starts at left tackle. Heck, he hadn't given up a single pressure in six games before the injury last season. That's the kind of pass protection the Chiefs need,' Kiper wrote.

Moreover, the Chiefs had a lot of shuffling on the offensive line last season, so adding a piece such as Simmons could be big, even more after trading Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears.

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Kansas City tried Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia at left tackle, but neither held up well. It kicked guard Joe Thuney outside, but he's in Chicago now. The Chiefs have to find a legitimate answer, and while they signed Jaylon Moore to be that, it's no sure thing. He was a backup in San Francisco.'

Simmons, who played at Ohio State, suffered a knee injury during the season. But, as Kiper said,if he didn't suffer the injury he might've been in the top-10 range, so this is a big talent the Chiefs could get at the end of the first round.

During the NFL Combine, it was revealed that Simmons is reportedly “ahead of schedule” in his recovery, which is a great sign.

“He reported that he is way ahead of schedule, and I was told he is healing extremely nice. There's a very real chance, an expectation almost, that he's ready to start the 2025 season. It does also sound like his interviews went really well,” NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said.

It could be a sneaky-good pick for the Chiefs if Simmons falls that far.