Why Patrick Mahomes may have three first-year Chiefs protecting him

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith and Lucas Niang have never taken a snap in a regular-season NFL game. The young trio -- Niang at 23, Humphrey and Smith at 22 -- would barely qualify for Medicare if you combined their ages.

But they have looked like veterans to the Kansas City Chiefs during training camp and the preseason. The three will likely protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the regular-season opener against the Cleveland Browns (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) as starters: Humphrey at center, Smith at right guard, Niang at right tackle.

"It doesn't matter to us that we're rookies," said Niang, technically in his second year after opting out of 2020 amid COVID-19 concerns. "It's just…