Matt Nagy on “Infectious Personality” by DJ Humphries, projection for KC Chiefs LT

The Kansas City Chiefs shook up their offensive line room this week when they officially signed left tackle DJ Humphries to a one-year contract. As the former Pro Bowler is now participating in his first week of practice, he will adjust to life with a contending team as the season progresses.

If it’s rare for a Super Bowl contender to sign a big-name player this late in the year, it’s because it is. Now, nearly a month before the NFL trade deadline, Kansas City is still trying to solidify a previously difficult position. As a result, Humphries finds himself in a challenging situation but still has a few weeks to adjust before the playoffs begin.

While offensive coordinator Matt Nagy knows this is a somewhat unorthodox move by the Chiefs, Humphries is already familiarizing himself.

“You can’t remember many who came in to play like that,” Nagy said. “I met DJ and just saw what he was about and listened to his story. I spoke to him yesterday. Ironically, our icebreaker was his father and I were teammates in the Arena League in 2004. It makes you feel old and gray.” He was great and I love his personality. He’s excited to come here and learn what we do and how we do things. He has an infectious personality. He is an experienced player and wants to help in any way he can, but it will take some time for me to love his personality.

Nagy isn’t sure when exactly the former Arizona Cardinals standout will be ready to play, as it’s a nuanced evaluation process for both the Chiefs and their new addition.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Nagy said. “I think it’s probably day by day when you go through it to see where he’s at I think you want to make sure you make the best judgment not only for the team but for the player as well, so they’re mine In your opinion, you can perform excellently. Question. I’m just looking forward to watching him train.”

Humphries has several things going against him, but also in his favor. On the one hand, he suffered a torn ACL at the end of 2023 and is trying to keep up with a team that can’t afford to take too many risks at this point. There are physical and mental hurdles he must overcome before he can return to the field, and a starting spot has not been publicly given to him when he is ready. On the other hand, Humphries isn’t competing with an elite lineup in Kansas City, and his performance last season was better than any other player who played left tackle for the eventual champions. If he is even 85-90% of the player he was last year, he would be a noticeable improvement over Wanya Morris and a huge improvement over Kingsley Suamataia.

This is a list with several caveats. Humphries probably won’t make it in Kansas City. However, Nagy believes that if he can just be himself, everything will go as planned.

“Just play the way he’s played his entire career,” Nagy said. “I think keeping it that simple is important. With Wanya and Kingsley and all these other guys playing for us right now, they’re just improving in training. Just become a part of what we do and just try to be the best that he can be.

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