Camp Report: How Good Can the Chiefs DL Be?

Camp Report: How Good Can the Chiefs DL Be?

Laddie Morse

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On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs newly signed Defensive End will report to Training Camp in Saint Joseph. When that happens, the Chiefs will sport a re-vamped DL of sorts, simply because they now have another force to be reckoned with. In the Spring, GM Brett Veach tried to re-sign Melvin Ingram back to the DL, but he ended up signing with Miami. The addition of Dunlap is better for the Chiefs DL (and defense) than bringing back Melvin Ingram would ever have been.

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Ingram was traded for in mid-season 2021 and played nine regular season games for K.C. contributing 1.0 sacks on 58% of the snaps in the games he participated in. There’s a big difference between Melvin Ingram and Carlos Dunlap. While Ingram comes in at 6-foot-2 and 247 lbs., Dunlap is 6-foot-6 and goes 285. That gives Joe Cullen (the Chiefs new DL coach) and Steve Spagnuolo a formidable line that must be dealt with, just speaking size-wise. Here’s a look at the potential DL lineup on passing downs opponents may have to face:

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Since Steve Spagnuolo likes to move his defensive linemen around, we could see these four lined up anywhere along the line or even dropped in coverage — which in my mind is not preferable — but it is a possibility with Spags.

The question of how good can this DL be is going to be answered by taking a look at how they are rotated in. While it may not be that we see these four on the field together that much, the total number of snaps may well tell the tale. Dunlap was on the field for 57% of the snaps he had while with Seattle and 59% of the snaps he had while playing for Cincinnati in 2020 (a split season for him) and then 38% of the snaps for the Seahawks last year. I would expect his snaps to equal closer to the number of sacks he had two years ago.

Dunlap is also good against the run, just as Frank Clark has been, and so I won’t be surprised to see Dunlap on the field as a starter on the first two downs, with Karlaftis coming in as his first rotational player.

Some fans may be confused about how well, or how many, sacks Frank Clark has produced in his career. Admittedly, Clark did much better in Seattle, than he has while in K.C., but I do expect a bounce back year from him.

Sacks Per Game on Average

0.51 – Clark

0.53 – Karlaftis (in three years at Purdue)

0.55 – Chris Jones

0.53 – Carlos Dunlap

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What’s most impressive here is that during Carlos Dunlap’s career, he’s had 95.5 Sacks (47th on the all-time list). As Frank Clark pointed out on Saturday, that’s a lot of sacks.

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“That’s a hell of a number. I’m ecstatic about him coming in, what he’s going to be able to bring to this team, his veteran skills, the knowledge.”

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The NFL’s all-time sack leader, Bruce Smith, had 200 sacks in 278 games for an average of 0.71 sacks per game. Reggie White had 0.81 sacks per contest and while those are the top two sack artists all-time the active sack leader is Von Miller and he averages 0.76 sacks per game. The next active player is Chandler Jones and he averages 0.77 sacks per game. The third most active player is Cam Jordan 0.60. So, anyone who averages over 0.50 sacks per game is doing well.

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Next up on the active list is Justin Houston who has averaged 0.68 sacks per game, a top tier average. The important point to remember about Justin Houston is… during his 22.0 sacks season in 2014, he averaged 0.72 sacks per game and he was able to do that because he was playing next to Dontari Poe and Tamba Hali. Who a defensive lineman is playing next to, matters. A lot.

Pointedly… it will matter this year as Frank Clark ups his game by taking offseason measures to improve himself, and Chris Jones keeps on being Chris Jones, and add in a gifted rookie pass rusher in George Karlaftis and now we multiply the output with the ever steady and superior Carlos Dunlap. Someone is going to go off this year, and I’d bet dollars to donuts that it will be Chris Jones.

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BTW, the Cardinals are up first on the Chiefs 2022 schedule.

Of course, the whole Chiefs defense will be better as a result, so each Defensive lineman should have one of their best years ever. I may be more excited than David Bell is about this signing, but we both agree that Dunlap will be a big help to the defense overall. His rotational assistance should help both Frank Clark and take some stress off of George Karlaftis, if he’s thinking he has to come in and produce right away as a rookie.

How Good Can the Chiefs DL Be?

Just imagine if Dunlap helps keep double teams off of Chris Jones, what that could mean for Mr. Jones?! If Dunlap can force the opposing QB to get the ball out sooner than expected, he’ll have made a huge difference for the coverage unit. Chris Jones sure likes the idea of Dunlap signing with K.C.:

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David and I have talked frequently about the Chiefs needing a DT presence, but by Dunlap bringing more outside pressure, if Karlaftis can swing inside on some downs, the Dunlap Effect may have solved that problem as well. Would I like to see the Chiefs sign a good DT who can bring pressure up the middle? You bet, but in lieu of that kind of signing, I’ll take the Dunlap Effect any time.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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