Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons is growing ahead of Year 2

One of the bright spots of the 2025 season for the Kansas City Chiefs was that the team may have — at long last —found a long-term solution at left tackle. When he was on the field last season, 2025 first-round pick Josh Simmons played well, showing flashes of being something truly special.

However, his rookie campaign was interrupted multiple times: first, a personal issue kept him away from the team for several weeks, and then a wrist injury he sustained in Week 13 sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Healthy and standing before reporters on Tuesday, Simmons almost looked like an entirely different player.

Simmons was simply an average, bulky offensive lineman last season, but the second-year pro made it clear he has been living in the weight room this offseason. While wearing a tight red sleeveless workout shirt, Simmons’ arms looked as large as most people’s legs. He also showed off a slimmed-down midsection that made him look physically more like an edge rusher than a lineman.

When he was asked about his physical transformation, Simmons attributed the natural process of increasing his gym time, calling it “a side effect of just kind of working out every day. Just try to get [stronger].”

Continuing, Simmons said he currently weighs around 285 to 290 pounds. To hold up on the offensive line in the NFL, there needs to be a little more sand in his pants, which is why Simmons told reporters that he wants to be 300 pounds by the time the season starts.

“I want to be three flat when I take the first snap,” Simmons announced.

Aside from getting jacked, Simmons told reporters on Tuesday that the number one thing he is working on this offseason is consistency:

“I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be,” explained Simmons. “I think a lot of people could see that. So, it’s probably just something I’m hammering right now… just kind of making everything look the same, whether it’s technique-wise, hand placement, etc., stuff like that.”

Simmons came to the Chiefs as a rookie last year after a major knee injury suffered at Ohio State. Not having to spend long hours in the training room rehabbing has given Simmons time this offseason to grind the tape and dig into the schemes and tendencies of opposing defenses. Simmons has been focusing on “Learning defenses and kind of getting patterns from a defense. Whether it’s a box or D-line, you know to take advantage of.”

Simmons also knows that this game goes both ways. While he tries to learn about his opponent, they spend their waking hours studying him. He knows to be ready for it.

“[Opposing defenders] know you know patterns from the offensive line more than you do. So, you’ve definitely got to never underestimate anybody.”