Get Used To Daniel Sorenson
Every team has a few guys on the roster that fans just aren’t that crazy about. When I talk about Sorenson, most of the reactions I get are negative. People view him as a good special teams player, but a liability in coverage and, therefore, a bad safety. If you feel that way, I’ve got bad news for you. Get used to Daniel Sorenson because he’s going to be here for a while. Here’s how I came to that conclusion.
Initial Impression: I’m a draft junkie, so whenever the Kansas City Chiefs pick up a new rookie I rush to examine his scouting reports, and combine/pro-day workout numbers. Sorenson has a really weird athletic profile. Here are his combine numbers per nfldraftscout.com:
Height: 6′ 1” 225lb Bench Reps: 13
Weight: 205 Verticle Jump: 32
40 Yard Dash: 4.67 Broad Jump: 9′ 6”
20 Yard Dash: 2.69 20 Yard Shuttle: 3.95
10 Yard Dash: 1.60 3-Cone Drill: 6.47
Looking at those numbers the first thing I thought was: “If this guy was 30lbs heavier he’d be a great ILB.” While Daniel Sorenson’s 40 time is pretty slow, though he ran a 4.54 at his pro-day, his 3-cone drill is BLAZING. How good is it? It’s .06 seconds faster than Tyreek Hill’s time. Another important trait to note is the difference between his 40 yard dash time and his 20 yard shuttle. Pat Kirwan, author of the best selling book Take Your Eye Off The Ball, says in his section on scouting that a difference of .5 seconds or greater between the 20 yard shuttle and the 40 yard dash is indicative of a player with great change of direction ability. Some guys are straight line fast, but they’re stiff, Sorenson is the opposite, he’s kinda slow in a straight line, but he can turn on a dime without losing speed. Outside of those traits, he puts up fairly pedestrian numbers. Doesn’t show great strength or explosion, at least in his workouts.
Special Teams: Most people agree that Sorenson is pretty good on special teams. Pro Football Focus backs that up. According to PFF in 2015 Sorenson didn’t miss a single tackle on STs and also managed a blocked field goal against the Browns. He was mentioned as a standout on a Chiefs STs unit that ranked 6th in the NFL last year despite the loss of several guys who had played all three phases. Sorenson’s football IQ is evident, he reads the field well and uses his fluid movement to get into position. He takes good angles and tackles physically.
Starting: It shouldn’t come as any great surprise that Sorenson is not an elite starter. He misses some tackles and he can’t cover WRs with regularity. That said, most fans are evaluating Sorenson as a strong safety. That’s not really how Chiefs see him. Chiefs mostly use Sorenson in two roles: nickle LB and free safety.
Here you see the way Chiefs used Sorenson in the first preseason game against the Seahawks, he’s the last line of defense. I love this role for Sorenson. Typically you think of strong safeties as the slow, hard hitters and free safeties as speedy coverage guys. Sutton likes fast guys in the box who can make the play before it gets 10 yards down the field. On the back end, it makes a lot of sense to have a guy like Sorenson who can really lay some wood to knock the ball out. If you trust your CBs to not get beat deep, having a hitter over a coverage guy makes a lot of sense. Sorenson had a big hit on Emanuel Sanders last year in week 10 that took Sanders out of the game for a while, though that was in his other role as a nickle LB.
Chiefs used Sorenson as a nickle LB against the Raiders when Hussein Abdullah was out. In that week 13 game, Sorenson had 5 tackles, 4 solo, 1 for a loss and a sack; he played 49.4% of defensive snaps. Chiefs didn’t get quite as much production out of him in a rainy game two match-up, but they liked what they saw from him enough to give him 66.7% of the snaps with Mauga getting what was left. Chiefs fans may not be crazy about Sorenson, but Bob Sutton liked him enough against the Raiders to play him twice as much as Mauga. While his coverage may be merely average for a safety, it’s pretty good for a LB. While his tackling may only be average for a LB, it’s pretty physical for a safety. Bob Sutton’s dime defense worked really well against Carr (who tends to struggle beyond his first read) and Sorenson played a big role in that.
Bottom Line: Sorenson is never going to be an elite player. He’s limited by what he’s genetically capable of, but he’s a versatile role-player with special teams value. You might see him as the 3rd, 4th, or 5th safety on the roster, but he’s gonna be on the roster. If you’re one of the people calling for Sorenson to be cut, you might make an effort to appreciate what he does, because he’s going to be here a while, might as well get used to it.
Bonus Personal Connection: Wanna know another reason Sorenson will make the roster? He’s from BYU. Andy certainly seems to love bringing in players with ties to his LDS roots (though this year’s BYU recruit Mitch Mathews looks destined for the practice squad at best and probably not even that).