Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs’ first two outside signings in the 2025 NFL free agency period came from the same football team and draft class.

The San Francisco 49ers selected left tackle Jaylon Moore in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft, while running back Elijah Mitchell was taken just a few picks later in the sixth round. The two came up together in the 49ers’ system over the past four years, each starting 12 games in San Francisco during that span.

As the Chiefs’ newest players met with the media for the first time, Mitchell was asked what Kansas City is getting in Moore, who is projected to be their new starting left tackle.

“Man, that’s my boy, bruh,” Mitchell told reporters of Moore. “Like we came in together. Since day one, we clicked. But, man, Jaylen (Moore), he brings a lot, even though he was (behind) one of the best tackles in the league (Trent Williams). Man, but Jaylen is definitely a sleeper. And Patrick Mahomes is going to love what Jaylen brings to it. Man, he can protect. He’s a good guy, man, and an awesome football player. So he’s going to be good. I’m excited for him.”

That’s a pretty solid endorsement from a player who knows Moore well, perhaps better than anyone else in the building outside of his former Western Michigan teammate Mike Caliendo. The fact that Moore is a bit of an unknown or underrated, a sleeper, as Mitchell says, might play to his advantage.

People don’t quite know what to expect from either Mitchell or Moore as they begin new chapters in Kansas City. Mitchell must overcome injury struggles that plagued him during his time in San Francisco. Moore has to prove that the success he saw in the small sample size of games he started in place of Trent Williams wasn’t a fluke.

Ultimately, it’s probably better that they’re both in this together in Kansas City. They’ll each have someone to lean on as they set out and start a new chapter.