Chiefs: Adding Confidence and Building Trust in the Linebacker Crew

Linebackers are the glue that holds together the front and back end of defensive work. 2021 brings a new season with a threesome to man the Kansas City Chiefs base 4-3 scheme and two of the three will cover receivers well, flooding into the short zone.

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Here It Is

And Opponents Will Find Out Why

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Starting in the middle in the base 4-3 is veteran Anthony Hitchens who also serves as the signal caller, which means he’s the front end leader. After the first 8 or 10 games of 2020, his play really shined. He is not a LB who covers the pass well, but is a trusted field commander. Hitchens has been working this offseason to increase muscle mass while ridding himself of body fat. His hope has been to gain speed and agility as well as strength.

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On the strong side will be Willie Gay, Jr.. Gay is now a “veteran” coming into his second year. The man has the speed to work to both sidelines and he covers the pass well. In 2020, he sat too much, but that was due to missing so much football between his last NCAA start and getting on the NFL grass. Gay shows a lot of football moxie as well. In the captioned photo he is positioning himself to throw a block after an interception. Gay knows football. At the end of the season of 2020 he was playing at a high level prior to his injury. I have no doubt about what he will accomplish in his year two.

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Adding to the mix is Missouri rookie weak side linebacker, Nick Bolton. He’ll easily fit into the job and has a nose for the ball. He finds the gaps and stops runners in the hole while also being fast enough to pursue the play to both sidelines. Bolton is also versed in pass coverage, so my concern about having linebackers to cover pass receivers into the short zone, or man-up, is negligible. True, he does not have the length for TE’s per se, but timing and leaping ability is a skill you cannot teach, and he has it.

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I see a lot about the positives for Bolton in the coming year. It’s almost as if the energy is flowing from the OTA’s all the way to Texas. I can’t wait to see this unfold in training camp once the players don the pads and start the hitting.

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Linebacker Depth

The camp roster has significant participants returning, including Ben Niemann, but I am not sure how he will all work out. I was disappointed in Niemann’s work of 2020, but he brings savvy and experience to be table plus, he’s a tough customer.

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Darius Harris, Omari Cobb as well as Emmanuel Smith (All UDFA’s and draft pick Dorian O’Daniel are vying for a position. No matter who it is, the Chiefs will have personnel Depth at LB to step in for short durations. I recall preseason 2019 watching both Darius Harris and Emmanuel Smith perform, and that gave me good feelings for their future potential, also supported by watching some college tape of Cobb in 2019.

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Here’s a fumble recovery by Darius Harris:

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Two of the men I list as starters are the future of the LB Corp: Willie Gay and Nick Bolton. Anthony Hitchens out of Iowa, is an 8 year pro, 28 years old and is under contract through 2022. By then he’ll be 30, so I see that as his last year as a Chief. Who knows though… if Hitch steps up one more time this year with even better play, it could be this threesome for 3 to 5 years.

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I have watched tape on Dorian O’Daniel and see that he reads plays, pursues the plays, and makes tackles with the best of them. A special tape provided by Ryan Tracy of RGR Sports shows his capability. Why Dorian doesn’t get more snaps remains illusive to me, but 15 defensive snaps in the past two years combined means he likely has not future as a LB with K.C.. Ben Niemann, also out of Iowa, was a player that I thought would advance after his rookie season, but he disappointed and remains the #2 MLB behind Hitch.

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I am confident in the three starters that Spagnuolo will field in 2021: Hitchens, Gay and Bolton.

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Reality Sets In

How We Got Here

The known factors are that Anthony Hitchens had been not living up to his billing, mostly. Veach spent far to much money to bring him aboard, although I thought it was the right acquisition at the time. What I saw on the field was night and day stuff as far as expectations and performance are concerned. That is, until late in 2020. At first his play was horrid, once ranking in the 28th percentile of active linebackers and the eye test proved it. The problem was his starting playing partner was Damien Wilson — now with the Jaguars — who faired better in ranking than Hitchens. Willie Gay Jr., was a 2nd round 2020 draft selection, which I saw as an ace pick by Brett Veach. Spagnuolo and Co. did not start him or give him significant reps across most of the season though they did make him a starter for 7 weeks. Gay needed the coaching and familiarization with Spags defense and was not trusted until the end of the season. Keep in mind he hadn’t played an NCAA football game, or any other football, for the better part of 2 seasons before joining the Chiefs. It took time, but then Gay exploded in games as the season closed down. In a week 16 game vs. the Falcon, Gay had 7 tackles and assists, 7 solos. Unfortunately, he was injured in the AFC championship game and missed the Super Bowl. Ben Niemann’s play took a step backwards and that was the story rolling into the draft. Hitch will start. Next up is Willie Gay, and Veach drafted the SEC leader in tackles for the 2019 and 2020 seasons in the Missouri Linebacker, Nick Bolton.

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Nick Bolton, WLB – #2 Dorian O’Daniel

This is where I see Bolton starting out. The interesting part could come during the season as Bolton is a football intellect and will take over as field commander eventually. Certainly when Hitch departs. That role for Bolton could expand and we very well could see Bolton and Gay paired up when the defense is in a set where only two LB’s are on the field. Wait for it… because if that happens, then it’s going to get interesting even further because that is the “tell” that the future portends for Hitches not returning in 2022. Bolton does not have the speed of Gay, but paired with him and considering Bolton is smart and twitchy plus he’ll be a quick study and we could eb looking at the Chiefs LB future. Bolton, along with his football IQ and pass coverage ability is quick and strong for a 2nd round pick in the draft.

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The mystery surrounding DO’D remains. I’ve watched him play and he did all the right things for the limited role: he’s fast, able to pursue to both sidelines, and defend in the aerial defense. We’ll see.

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Willie Gay, Jr. – SLB – #2 Omari Cobb

I am a huge fan of Willie Gay Jr. since he was drafted in 2020. It took longer than I expected for him to emerge last year, but emerge he did. Since his suspension was a factor for the draft in 2020, I didn’t have him on my list and of course, he was on Veach’s to-do list. When he was picked, I felt positive vibes and spent some time that night looking at why he was the right choice and came away from that examination telling myself, “Yeah, he is a solid pick for the Chiefs!” I mentioned his layoff was a factor in that since he was suspended from his team for most of 2020. I saw him defend passes, pursue to the outside, hit the hole that RB’s were heading into during the 2020 season and I have no doubt that this continues. Omari Cobb is a player that I thought would be drafted. I liked what I saw on tape in the 2019 season. He adds depth to the LB corp, but I can only project him in that role as SLB, until we see these younger players in pads. As with Gay, I felt the same about Cobb as a later round pick and I value bringing him aboard. We wait and see what he does in his second year with the Chiefs. Cobb did he gain from the coaching last year? We’ll see.

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Anthony Hitchens, MLB – #2 Ben Niemann

Here is where things get interesting. Hitchens and Niemann both are poor pass coverage Linebackers. Okay. I understand the situation. If Hitch plays as he did as the 2020 season was closing down, then he will be a solid… if he returns with that kind of play. However, he’s also the field general. As #2, Ben Niemann is sufficient and has the football IQ to go with the role. I supported his selection as a UDFA and can only hope that 2020 was a sophomore slump. I do know what his playing partner at Iowa thought about him, LB Josey Jewell, also out of Iowa, who was drafted by the Broncos, said of him: “He is Mr. Linebacker.” So, that does say something for Niemann.

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I grade the group as, “Improved” based on Hitchens playing well, the way he closed out the 2020 season, and post season… and, the same of Willie Gay’s play, plus adding Nick Bolton. While Bolton is a rookie, he’s from the best NCAA Conference and the top LB for the SEC two years running. He should be a significant addition. We’ll see all of it in pads and the preseason, but I am sticking with my rating for the group and believe that we finally will have three starters who will lead the way behind the front four. In fact, what I see as an improved front four aids the linebackers as well.

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David Bell – ArrowheadOne

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