The Chiefs were keeping an eye on Suamataia since his final days in BYU.

(L) Andy Reid and (R) Kingsley Suamataia (Via Imago)

Days before the Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi attended the BYU senior bowl, where he found out about Kingsley Suamataia. Borgonzi was intrigued by the massive 6-foot-5 offensive tackle, which he then shared with GM Brett Veach, OL coach Steve Spagnuolo, and head coach Andy Reid.

During the NFL combine, the Chiefs set up a formal meeting with Suamataia. Eyewitnesses claimed that coach Reid was brimming with excitement.

Coach Andy Reid, he loves his BYU guys--Being able to talk with Coach Reid, it just felt like home already, like sitting at home and chilling with one of my uncles. It was so chill and so fun. He [Andy Reid] said, ‘We’ve got a lot of ties to BYU. I’m trying to get you here.’ From there, I already felt it around the whole facility, meeting all the coaches. It felt like home.

Kingsley Suamataia revealed on Friday after his draft

Sure enough, the Chiefs passed on the likes of Olu Fashanu and kept their pursuit of selecting the Cougars man. Veach called the 21-year-old from the Chiefs war room to let him know that Coach Reid was ‘sweating bullets’ hoping that no other team would take him.

How did Kingsley Suamataia feel after the Chiefs ‘banished’ him?

To select Suamataia, the Chiefs traded their original second-round picks, No. 64 and 211, to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for 63 and 173. Then they used the 63rd pick for the BYU graduate.
Kingsley Suamataia

According to the Athletic‘s draft expert Dane Bruglar, Suamataia was the 40th-best player to come out of the draft. Moreover, he was the 7th-best OT in 2024. He did fall down quite a bit. However, being a BYU graduate and playing for a coach who is also an alumnus was a match made in draft heaven.

[There were] a lot of emotions. A lot of crying. It's that waiting-around period. I never knew what all the boys meant by that waiting period until your phone gets called, and it just feels like peace, like you can breathe again.

Suamataia added

His agent revealed that the Chiefs had texted him to let him know that the Chiefs had traded up.

I just felt relief then. Going back through memories of all the sacrifices everybody put in around the room in this conference room. It was a lot of emotion.

Suamataia said

This was a smart addition by the Kansas City Chiefs. He has more than 1,000 career snaps, which is equivalent to a season in the NFL. But more importantly, his versatility in being able to line up on both sides of the offensive line would come in handy.