Kingsley Suamataia’s 2025 season with Chiefs already feels like a pressure cooker

The entirety of the Kansas City Chiefs roster is under enormous pressure on an annual basis. Such is life as the reigning NFL dynasty, the one team on primetime (and in the Super Bowl) more than any other.

Within the Chiefs' sphere, one player might be feeling that pressure more than any other in 2025: Kingsley Suamataia.

Suamataia comes into the 2025 season with the biggest shoes to fill. While the Chiefs weathered a few offseason losses, the trade of Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears left a significant void on multiple levels, and as the man penciled in to replace him, Suamataia is feeling the pressure.

Thuney was an elder statesman along the offensive line who not only provided elite guard play as one of the league's best pass protectors at any position, but he was also a reliable ironman who was the unit's unquestioned leader. Given his importance in the locker room and on the field, Suamataia is going to be under the microscope from the start.

Few players are feeling the heat in 2025 like the former BYU lineman.

Suamataia is hoping a change of scenery (or position, really) gives him better results in '25 than his first season in the NFL, which featured a two-game audition to start the year at left tackle before getting a permanent hook. The Chiefs liked Suamataia enough to select him in the second round of the '24 draft and then handed him the left tackle job to start the year. The potential is there, but he has to capitalize on a new chance at left guard.

Others are noticing just how much pressure Suamataia is under. Sayre Bedinger of NFL Spin Zone listed the BYU product as his second-year player under the most pressure on the Chiefs. While that's the case within that category, Suamataia is likely the winner for feeling the heat of anyone on the roster at any position.

The good news is that Suamataia is not alone. He's going to have a lot of talent around him with Creed Humphrey to his right and likely Josh Simmons on his left. Trey Smith is also around to help handle leadership concerns, so that part of Thuney's load doesn't fall on him.

Chiefs coaches have stayed very positive about Suamataia's potential, and the lineman himself says he's adjusting to his new role. It's all part of the pressure felt trying to fill the shoes of a franchise hero.