From Tryout to Mahomes' Blind Side: How Undrafted Kahlil Benson Became September's Top Offensive Rookie

By the DraftClassInsider staff · Published October 12, 2026 · Through Week 5 of the 2026 season (Kansas City's bye week)

At a glance

Draft: undrafted out of Indiana, by way of Colorado. He was not one of the Chiefs' priority free agents.
How he got in: one of three players signed from a rookie-minicamp tryout on May 4. He signed for three years and $3.1 million, with no signing bonus and no guarantees.
Role: starting left tackle while 2025 first-round pick Josh Simmons is out with a bulging disc in his lower back. He played every offensive snap in September.
Through three games: 7 pressures allowed on 106 pass-blocking snaps, per Next Gen Stats, the third-fewest among left tackles.
Honors: NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for September, the first offensive lineman to win it since Quenton Nelson in 2018.
Team: Kansas City is 4-0 and was off in Week 5.

Passed Over for Seven Rounds

Kahlil Benson's college career had plenty of setbacks. He played high school football in Southaven, Mississippi, across the state line from Memphis, and went to Indiana, where he tore his ACL in preseason practice and redshirted. He did not play during the pandemic season. He made five starts at right guard in 2022 and started all 12 games in 2023. After coach Tom Allen was fired following a 3-9 season, Benson transferred to Colorado. He played nine games there protecting Shedeur Sanders and had more injuries. Then he went back to Indiana for his final season, started 12 games at right tackle and won a national title with Fernando Mendoza. Chiefs.com counted 24 pressures allowed on 382 pass-blocking snaps that year.

He was not drafted. When the AP asked Andy Reid why, the coach said, "I'm not sure." ESPN's Nate Taylor reported that Benson was not among the Chiefs' priority free agents in late April. He came to rookie minicamp on a tryout and was one of three players, out of 76 tryout players, to earn a contract on May 4. According to OverTheCap, the deal is worth $3.1 million over three years with no signing bonus and no guaranteed money. His 2026 cap number is $885,000, the rookie minimum.

How He Won a Job

His physical traits stood out quickly. ESPN lists him at 6-6 and 319 pounds with "arms almost 35 inches long." By June minicamp, Wanya Morris, a 2023 third-round tackle, had fallen behind Jaylon Moore, Chukwuebuka Godrick and Benson on the depth chart. Reid praised Benson's "extremely strong hands." On June 11, Kansas City traded Morris and a 2027 seventh-round pick to Atlanta for a 2027 sixth.

In training camp, Benson took every first-team rep at right tackle for two straight practices. He also filled in at right guard while Trey Smith was out with a hip injury. "He's learning. Very strong and powerful, good feet, good athletic ability," Reid said in mid-August. Simmons, the player he would replace, was impressed too: "I think Kahlil is doing a great job. I think you can't really teach effort." "Honestly, I just kind of kept my head down," Benson said. "I knew my time was going to come and really just stayed humble." He made the 53-man roster at the August 30 cutdown. Counting waiver claims, Kansas City opened the season with five undrafted rookies, the most of any team, according to NFLTradeRumors.

The Move to Left Tackle

Simmons left a practice in mid-August with back discomfort. It turned out to be a bulging disc in his lower back. "It's kind of hindered the strength in his leg, but he's been working through it," Reid said on September 30. For the opener against Denver, the Chiefs moved Jaylon Moore to right tackle and put Benson at left tackle, a position NFL.com notes he never played at Indiana. "We try to play the five best guys," Reid said beforehand. "If he has to be the left tackle, he's the left tackle and we roll with it." Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy kept it simple: "Go play and have fun. That's all you can say."

It worked from the start. In a 31-10 win over the Broncos on September 14, he allowed one pressure on 32 pass-blocking snaps. Next Gen Stats said that was the fewest of any rookie tackle in Week 1, including first-round picks Spencer Fano, Blake Miller and Monroe Freeling. After a 33-30 overtime win over the Colts, Reid said, "There were a couple of hiccups in there, but he was going against a good player, and I thought he did a decent job." He added: "I think he's winning over a lot of people."

The Numbers

Through three games he played 100% of Kansas City's offensive snaps. Next Gen Stats charged him with seven pressures on 106 pass-blocking snaps, the third-fewest among left tackles, and credited him with winning 89 of 106 one-on-one matchups. Chiefs.com, using a different count, said he had not allowed a sack. On October 1 the NFL named him Offensive Rookie of the Month for September. He was the eighth offensive lineman to win the award and the first since Quenton Nelson in 2018. Chiefs.com added that he was the team's first offensive player to win a rookie-of-the-month award since Kareem Hunt in December 2017.

Bill Barnwell's quarter-season review for ESPN found that Benson had been "left on an island at the sixth-highest rate of any left tackle in the NFL" while "allowing one sack through four games" and "ranking eighth among all tackles in run block win rate." His verdict: "He has been a revelation." Barnwell ranked Benson second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race, behind Browns receiver Denzel Boston and ahead of Jets tight end Kenyon Sadiq. The Chiefs beat Denver, Indianapolis, Miami and Las Vegas before their Week 5 bye. Patrick Mahomes was sacked four times in the first three games, the AP noted, which put him on pace for his fewest since 2020.

What Comes Next

The AP reported that Simmons could return as soon as October 18 against the Chargers. That raises the obvious question of what Kansas City does with Benson then. Reid has said the team is "comfortable with Kahlil on either side," and Benson started camp working at right tackle. He has also played guard. A rookie who has started at left tackle, taken right-tackle reps and filled in at guard, all on a minimum salary, will keep a roster spot.

Our take. Benson is the best example so far of a 2026 rookie outplaying his draft position, and the money makes it clearer. Kansas City pays him the league minimum with nothing guaranteed. The three first-round tackles he outplayed in Week 1 have rookie contracts worth several times as much. One month is a small sample, and pass rushers will study his tape. Still, a player every team passed on has protected Patrick Mahomes' blind side for a 4-0 team. For more undrafted and late-round rookies outplaying their slot, see our early returns.

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