ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Thirty-two teams passed on offensive tackle Khalil Benson a total of 224 times in the NFL draft.
They all passed on him after the draft, too.
It wasn’t until the Kansas City Chiefs invited him to their rookie minicamp — no guarantees, no promises, no expectations beyond those the former Indiana lineman put upon himself — that Benson even found his way onto a professional practice field.
He hasn’t left since.
The right tackle charged with protecting Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza while helping the Hoosiers win the national title impressed the Chiefs enough to warrant a call-back for the rest of the offseason. Before long, Benson had worked his way through the depth chart, eventually getting reps with the starters and suddenly protecting two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Over the weekend, Benson was one of the bright spots for Kansas City in its preseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“Honestly, I just kind of kept my head down,” Benson said, when asked about his long, circuitous, overcome-all-obstacles road to the NFL. “I knew my time was going to come and really just stayed humble. Stayed faithful. Kept praying to God. Just making sure that I was ready to be on call when it was that time.”
So how does a starting offensive lineman — one that stands 6-foot-6 and weighs about 320 pounds — on a national champion go almost entirely overlooked coming out of college? It’s a question a lot of folks are asking these days.
Benson was similarly overlooked coming out of Southaven High School, which sits just across the Mississippi line from Memphis, Tennessee. He wound up going to Indiana but tore his ACL during preseason practices, forcing him to redshirt that season. He did not play at all the following year, which was the season played amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Benson finally played in 2022, including five starts for the Hoosiers at right guard, and he started all 12 games the next year, when it seemed as if his star was ascending. But then coach Tom Allen was fired after a 3-9 finish and Benson transferred to Colorado, where he played nine games for coach Deion Sanders and protected his son and quarterback, Shedeur Sanders.
After dealing with yet more injuries with the Buffaloes, Benson opted to transfer back to Indiana for his final season of college.
“I mean, he’s got talent,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, when asked why no NFL teams seemed willing to give Benson a chance. “I’m not sure.”
Benson has certainly made the most of the opportunity Kansas City has given him.
The Chiefs appeared to be set along the line, returning first-round pick Josh Simmons at left tackle, Kingsley Suamataia at guard, four-time Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey, two-time Pro Bowl pick Trey Smith at the other guard and Jaylon Moore at right tackle.
Soon, though, Benson was rotating with Moore in the starting group. And when Smith missed practice recently because of a hip injury, Benson showed some versatility by kicking inside, offering positional flexibility that has become so important in the NFL these days.
“He’s learning,” Reid said. “Very strong, powerful, good feet, good athletic ability. And he’s working at it — the consistency part, scheme-wise — so physically he’s got all the tools there. So we’ll just keep working at it and see where it goes.”
Given that Mahomes is coming off a torn knee ligament, there has never been more pressure on the offensive line in Kansas City than this season. But even Mahomes has taken note of the new guy lining up in front of him.
“If you can fix your mistakes, and get better and better each and every day, usually good things happen,” Mahomes said, “and that’s what he’s done ever since he’s been here. I mean, it started in the OTAs and the rookie minicamp, honestly. I remember watching film on that and seeing that guy and seeing him kind of do stuff the right way. And he’s kind of built and got better and better.
“Now,” Mahomes added, “it’s about how can he stack and how can he go to a preseason game and how can he get himself ready for the regular season? We still have a long way to go, but I’m happy with the progress so far.”
NOTES: First-round pick Mansoor Delane shed his yellow no-contact jersey for the first time in camp Monday. The cornerback had been working through a shoulder injury. “It looks like he’s healing up pretty good,” Reid said. “We’ll just monitor it, see how he does with extended play.” ... Smith remained out of practice Monday, and Reid said it is possible he will not be back this week. ... LB Jack Cochrane left with a knee injury, though it is not believed to be serious.
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Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
