- Joe Thuney is ready to play left deal with in Tremendous Bowl 59: Thuney switched to defending Patrick Mahomes’ blind aspect mid-season and now will do it on soccer’s greatest stage.
- Thuney had beforehand excelled at left guard: He earned a 90.4 PFF pass-blocking grade at guard within the common season, which led the place.
Estimated Studying Time: 3 minutes
Joe Thuney has been a mainstay of the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs‘ frequent Tremendous Bowl runs, simply in numerous roles.
Two years in the past, he performed left guard towards the Philadelphia Eagles and earned a 76.0 PFF general grade, which ranked fourth highest on the Chiefs’ offense. Final 12 months, he was inactive for the Tremendous Bowl with a knee harm. And this 12 months, in Tremendous Bowl 59, he’s anticipated to play left deal with after he moved from left guard towards the top of the common season.
Thuney’s place change might be not mentioned sufficient. The NC State product performed solely 82 snaps at left deal with over the primary eight seasons of his profession earlier than 2024. This 12 months, he performed 333 snaps on the place, all coming after Thanksgiving. The Chiefs first experimented with Thuney enjoying on the surface on the finish of their Black Friday sport towards the Raiders.
Joe Thuney: 2024 Snap Counts by Place
Whereas it has not been at all times excellent, Thuney gave the Chiefs higher play at an important place than they’d earlier within the season. Over the primary 14 weeks of the season, Kansas Metropolis’s left tackles mixed to earn a 47.9 PFF general grade, which ranked thirty first within the NFL. Thuney has additionally turn into higher on the place over time, culminating in an AFC Championship sport wherein he earned a 73.2 PFF general grade and an 89.2 PFF pass-blocking grade after he didn’t enable a single strain towards the Payments.
Not giving up strain in a sport is one thing Thuney is aware of loads about. Kansas Metropolis’s left guard didn’t give up a single strain between Week 7 and Week 12, regardless of needing to move block on 269 performs all through these six video games. Throughout that span, he earned a league-leading 94.8 PFF pass-blocking grade. He earned a 90.4 PFF pass-blocking grade at guard within the common season, which led the place.
Thuney’s excellence on the inside brings up an attention-grabbing dialogue: Ought to the Chiefs contemplate transferring him inside, the place his presence might enable middle Creed Humphrey to ceaselessly slide to his proper to assist Trey Smith towards Jalen Carter? Or ought to Kansas Metropolis simply belief him to handle quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ blind aspect as a left deal with? Both approach, if Thuney can cap a season wherein he demonstrated an elite degree of play and flexibility with a robust efficiency and one other Tremendous Bowl title, he must be talked about as a possible future Corridor of Famer extra usually.
