A massive gamble — and a potential lifeline — for a battered Kansas City offensive line
The 2025 season exposed a painful truth for the Kansas City Chiefs: the offensive line simply didn’t survive intact. Injuries forced the Chiefs to cycle through three starting left tackles and four different right tackles, a revolving door that now looms even larger with Patrick Mahomes returning from a torn ACL.
Depth isn’t optional anymore — it’s urgent.
Enter Miami Hurricanes left tackle Markel Bell, a towering 6’9”, 340-pound presence who looks like he was built to swallow pass rushers whole. When Bell wins early in a rep, defenders can disappear entirely. Moving that much mass — especially with his enormous wingspan — is a challenge few edge rushers solve cleanly.
Bell’s arm length is his calling card. Once he latches on, his grip strength and reach allow him to keep rushers locked out, unable to access his chest or reset their attack. When he lands his punch squarely, Bell can dominate snaps outright, even flashing a violent club move that knocks defenders off their path and wrecks timing.
But the tape also shows why Bell is viewed as a late-round pick or priority undrafted free agent.
His height works against him as often as it helps. Bell’s naturally high pad level costs him leverage, and his foot speed struggles to match modern, wide-alignment edge rushers. When defenders threaten the corner quickly, Bell doesn’t always gain enough depth or width in his kick step to protect his outside shoulder.
The problems compound when the initial contact misses. Bell lacks the agility to suddenly redirect inside, leaving him vulnerable to B-gap counters and late pressure. He bends at the waist too often, overextends to recover, and savvy rushers can exploit those moments.
Even in the run game, Bell’s size doesn’t always translate to dominance. His pad level allows defenders to stack him up at the point of attack, limiting displacement and stalling runs before they develop.
All eyes now turn to Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship, where Miami faces the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana may lack star power along the defensive line, but edge rusher Mikail Kamara — who has posted 55+ pressures in each of the past two seasons — presents a critical test.
If Bell can survive that matchup, he may convince NFL teams he’s more than just a physical curiosity. For Kansas City, he represents a familiar draft dilemma: raw traits, real risk — and just enough upside to be tempting when protecting Mahomes is the priority above all else.
