2018 K.C. Chiefs Defense:
Strengths and Weaknesses
by Paul Pulley
Let’s look at the Kansas City Chiefs defensive position groups and see if we can determine if they look like they will be a strength this upcoming season, or a potential weakness. There have been considerable changes to the roster since this time last year and this new and hopefully improved defense will need to develop it’s own new identity.
The Chiefs Defensive Line
The Chiefs defensive linemen include returning players Chris Jones, Allen Bailey, Jarvis Jenkins and Justin Hamilton. Newcomers to the team are Xavier Williams, Stefan Charles and TY McGill, plus 2018 3rd round draft pick Derrick Nnadi and UDFA Dee Liner.
- Chris Jones is entering his 3rd year in the league and has already shown he can be very disruptive and one of the top 3-4 defensive ends in the NFL.
- Allen Bailey is solid at the other DE spot but isn’t a flashy player. Bailey missed most of 2016 with an injury that may have slowed him some last year. At 29 years old, in the final year of his contract with a cap number of just under $8,000,000, this could be Bailey’s last year as a Chief.
- Jenkins and Charles, both at 30 years of age, are on one year minimum contracts and are strictly reserve players.
- McGill and Hamilton, both 25 years old (or soon to be in Hamilton’s case) came into the league in 2015 and have mostly been practice squad players. Hamilton was signed off of the Eagles practice squad last December and played 45 snaps in week 17
- Xavier Williams signed with the Chiefs this off-season from the Arizona Cardinals. Williams was a 2015 UDFA. 2017 was Williams most productive year, recording 20 tackles and half a sack.
- Nnadi is a little undersized for a 3-4 NT but has a good motor and showed pass rush ability while at Florida St. Liner started his career at Alabama but was buried on the depth chart and transferred to Arkansas St. He has good size at 6-3 and 337 lbs. However, I would think the Chiefs would be looking to use him as a DE if he could shed a few pounds.
With the exception of Chris Jones, this group is either getting older, journeymen or unproven. I still expect defensive coordinator Bob Sutton to use a nickel defense with only two defensive linemen more than ever this year except on short yardage and goal line D. Even so, this group doesn’t instill a great deal of confidence and I will have to consider the defensive line as a weakness heading into the season.
The Chiefs Outside Linebackers
The Chiefs OLBs currently on the roster include Justin Houston, Dee Ford, Frank Zombo, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Breeland Speaks, Tyrone Holmes and Robert McCray.
- Justin Houston is far and away the Chiefs best OLB, good at pressuring the quarterback and producing sacks and excellent against the run. I have read many pieces about Houston underperforming last season because he “only” had 9.5 sacks, but 9.5 is the same number as Jadeveon Clowney, only ½ sack less than Von Miller and just 1 fewer sack than Khalil Mack, Melvin Ingram or Cameron Wake, and Houston played in one less game than the others. In addition, Houston produced as many or more tackles than all but Mack.
- Dee Ford has mostly been a disappointment since being drafted in the first round of 2014. Ford seemingly has been unwilling to put forth the effort to take the starting role away from an old guy with bad knees or to expand his pass rush moves. Ford does appear to have one redeeming quality, his speed rush seems to take some pressure off of Houston as 6 of Houston’s 9.5 sacks came in the six games that Ford played.
- Frank Zombo is a 31 year old journeyman OLB that is a good guy to have on the roster to give the starters a breather, but isn’t someone that the Chiefs want in a starting role.
- Kpassagnon and Speaks are both projects that played DE in college. They are both 2nd round picks from the 2017 and 2018 drafts respectively. Moving from college DE to NFL OLB is something that seems to take most players considerable time to accomplish, so expecting much out of either of these guys early in the season or even at all is probably wishful thinking. I am expecting both to get playing time this season but am tempering my expectations as for their overall effectiveness.
- 2016 6th round pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tyrone Holmes spent most of his first two years with the Cleveland Browns and was picked up by Kansas City in mid December. An intriguing prospect from small school Montana, Holmes could be a cost saving OLB to replace Zombo if he can play special teams well enough as Zombo played over half of the Chiefs ST snaps last season.
- UDFA Robert McCray, at 6-2 and 280 lbs. still ran a reported 4.65 at his pro day. He is a little short but mostly has the size the Chiefs seem to be moving to in their OLBs. My guess is McCray is a front runner for the practice squad.
With Ford mostly still broken down and a bunch of projects with a lone journeyman thrown in, Houston looks to be the sole quality player at the OLB position to start the season. It looks like once again OLB will be a weakness until one or two of these young players step up.
The Chiefs Inside Linebackers
The Chiefs current ILBs consist of Reggie Ragland, Anthony Hitchens, Terrance Smith, Ukeme Eligwe, Raymond Davison, Ben Niemann and Dorian O’Daniel.
- General Manager Brett Veach traded for Ragland in late August last year. Ragland played in 12 games last season, logging less than 30% of the defensive snaps. I would expect that number to at least double this year.
- GM Veach signed Hitchens at the beginning of the league year. Hitchens will be replacing the trio of Derrick Johnson, Kevin Pierre-Louis and Ramik Wilson. A smaller ILB, Hitchens is instinctive and an excellent tackler.
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- Smith, a 2016 UDFA and Eligwe, 2017 5th round pick, are of similar build, standing 6-2 and weighing in the mid to upper 230’s. Both players saw most of their defensive action in week 17 last year, but both played a lot of special teams all season.
- O’Daniel was drafted in the 3rd round by KC this year. A small LB, O’Daniel is an excellent special teamer. It will be interesting to see how the Chiefs use him, but we might see O’Daniel as an in the box safety in dime packages.
- UDFA’s Davison and Niemann are good tacklers and special teamers. Both are speed guys with coverage skills.
We could see the Chiefs keep an extra ILB on the roster this year as several will make good special teams players. Overall, I believe the inside linebackers will be a strength of this seasons team.
The Chiefs Corner Backs
For 2018, the starting corners would be David Amerson, Steven Nelson and Kendall Fuller. Reserves can be selected from Keith Reaser, Will Redmond, 6th round draft pick Tremon Smith and a number of free agents.
- Amerson was drafted by the Redskins in 2013 and played the last 2+ years in Oakland. Amerson missed most of 2017 with a foot injury. He signed with KC in the off-season and is a good cover corner and willing run supporter.
- Fuller was acquired in THE trade with the Washington Redskins. Fuller was considered the best nickelback in the league and is probably the best corner on the Chiefs roster.
- Nelson was a 3rd round draft pick in 2015, although he missed almost half of last year, Nelson has improved steadily as a corner and should be ready to take on a starting role.
- Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, both Reaser (2014 draft) and Redmond (2016 draft) were released by the 49ers and signed by the Chiefs during the 2017 season. Reaser played week 17 last year and Redmond has yet to play in the NFL while battling injuries.
- Smith, drafted in the 6th round this year, runs a 4.3-40. Although from FCS Central Arkansas, Smith is a ball hawk with 15 career picks and works hard in coverage. He will likely make the team as a return specialist.
- Other corners currently on the roster include Ashton Lampkin, Makinton Dorleant, Arrion Springs and D’Montre Wade. Springs made some noise in OTAs but these guys will have to work extremely hard to make the 53 man roster as the Chiefs normally start the season with 5 CBs.
While Marcus Peters was a ball hawk for the Chiefs, he could be beaten by speed receivers and his run support was questionable. Former corners Phillip Gaines, Terrance Mitchell and Kenneth Acker were so bad the Chiefs brought in Darrelle Revis late in the season to try to help, but Revis was slow and played without much enthusiasm.
As this is almost an entirely new group of corners there will likely be some growing pains early, but as the season progresses, I believe this group will be a strength as compared to the past couple of years.
The Chiefs Safeties
The Chiefs have Eric Berry returning from injury. They are returning Daniel Sorenson, Eric Murray and Leon McQuay. There is also this years 4th round draft pick Armani Watts, Robert Golden and UDFAs Jordan Sterns and Step Durham.
- Former 1st round pick Eric Berry will be returning to the Chiefs lineup after missing almost all of last year with an achilles injury. When healthy, Berry is easily one of the best safeties in the league.
- Sorenson, a 2014 UDFA, gives the Chiefs some good play, both on defense and on special teams. Sorenson is like Zombo, a good reserve and role player but not a guy you really want starting.
- Murray was drafted in the 4th round in 2016 and hopefully he really steps his game up but is still probably best suited for a reserve role.
- 2017 6th round draft pick McQuay has good size and speed to play FS. He started and played week 17 last year. It will have to be determined during camp if he has progressed enough during the off-season to earn the starting role next to Berry.
- Golden, a 2012 UDFA, spent the first 6 years of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last year Golden played about 21% of the Steelers defensive snaps.
- Many are hoping 2018 4th round draft selection Armani Watts will be the steal of the draft for KC. Watts was a 4 year starter at Texas A&M, registering well over 300 tackles and intercepting 10 passes in his collegiate career, with his Junior season cut short by injury. He also had 9 interceptions as a high school senior.
- UDFAs Sterns and Durham will need to really impress to make the team. Their best chance is probably a spot on the practice squad.
With Berry retuning from injury and the rest either untested or sub-par players, the safety group looks to be a weakness to start the season.
The Chiefs Defense: Conclusion
The Kansas City Chief’s defense needs to have some of these young players step up and take on starting roles, improving the positions as they do so in order for the defense to show very much improvement this season. I do believe the defense is turning the corner to an upward trend, it will just depend on how much time it takes for all the new pieces to gel.
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