The Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their offensive line on Wednesday with the addition of veteran guard Kelechi Osemele.
Here are five things to know about the newest member of the squad.
1. Osemele is an eight-year veteran.
The six-foot-five, 330-pound Osemele spent four years with the Baltimore Ravens and made 51 starts along the offensive line – seeing time at guard, right and left tackle - from 2012-15 before signing with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent ahead of the 2016 campaign.
He logged 42 starts exclusively at left guard for the Raiders over the next three seasons, earning a reputation as one of the better offensive guards in the NFL, prior to being traded to the New York Jets in 2019.
Osemele has recorded at least 1,000 snaps four times in his eight professional seasons, doing so most recently in 2017 with Oakland.
2. He played for the New York Jets in 2019.
Osemele made three starts for New York at guard last season before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign. He was released following the season, allowing him to hit the free agent market for the second time in his career.
3. Osemele is two-time Pro Bowl selection and a former All-Pro.
Osemele's best seasons in terms of accolades were from 2016-17 during his first two years with the Raiders.
He earned the third-highest overall grade among all guards according to Pro Football Focus in 2016 while tallying his first-career Pro Bowl nod and a First-Team All-Pro selection, establishing himself as one of the top offensive linemen in the league. Osemele then followed that up with another Pro Bowl season in 2017, earning PFF's 12th-best grade among all guards.
Still at just 31 years old and only three years removed from a Pro Bowl campaign, Osemele will be looking to re-capture that success in Kansas City.
4. He originally entered the league as a second-round draft pick.
Osemele was seen as a potential first-round pick headed into the 2012 Draft and showed off his strength at the NFL Scouting Combine that year, ranking second among all offensive linemen with 32 reps on the bench press.
The Ravens ended up selecting him with the No. 60 overall pick, making him the 12th offensive lineman taken that year.
5. Osemele played his college ball at Iowa State.
A four-year player for the Cyclones, Osemele started every game between his sophomore and senior seasons while earning All Big-12 honors twice (2009, '11) and an All-American nod (2011).
His path later led to stops on both coasts, but all these years later, Osemele is back in the Midwest as a member of the defending Super Bowl champions.
