Chiefs: Drawing to a Pair of Tough
ILBs – Anthony Hitchens
· by David Bell
Covered in the previous episode, we took a look at Reggie Ragland. I was extremely pleased with the signing in the first place and from watching Ragland’s finale to what was essentially his rookie season (Ragland did not play in 2016 due to surgery on a torn ACL), I came away impressed enough to state that the Chiefs had found the “thumper” they needed inside. I noted that DJ had not fully recovered from his own injury and his play was below par — that it was too bad because Reggie came into his own in the playoff game against the Titans.
Veach Signs Anthony Hitchens
Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach stepped up to the plate in the off season and signed F/A ILB Anthony Hitchens. I view this as a solid move also, especially when you consider that Dorsey had drafted Ukeme Eligwe, followed by the new GM’s drafting Dorian O’Daniel in 2018’s draft as well as bringing in other players. Present as well on the roster are Terrance Smith and also Veach brought in ILB Ben Niemann from Iowa.
Hitchens, Dallas and Beyond
Hitchens, in Dallas followed two starting players at ILB and was let go in Free Agency. Obviously, the reasons for this were Sean Lee returning to the “Boys” lineup in 2018, and the Cowboys additions to their own ILB corp in the process. With 84 tackles in 12 games started, the numbers reflect well in comparison to NFL ILBs over-all especially when you consider that only played 52.2% of the Cowboys defensive snaps in 2017.
What does Hitchens bring to the table? His “speed” is the compliment to Ragland’s hard hitting ways — at the same time, Hitchens is also a “toughy” who didn’t miss a tackle last year. He’s not afraid to hit an opposing RB in the hole and he also is a good aerial defender, both dropping into a zone or going man up on an assigned task of a running back swinging out as a receiver. He is quick enough to stick with the speed factor but would struggle against tall WRs or TE’s crossing and in man coverage against such solo routes. As you can see that is both the strengths and weaknesses combined.
Farzin Vousoughian of the KC Star wrote about the duo a couple of days ago and it was his take that the pair of ILBs for KC would help tremendously against the run. He added that Ragland ranked 19th, and Hitchens 21st, against the run and that is very respectable since both players did not start in 4 games each in the preceding season.
In 2017, Hitchens had 12 starts, replacing an injured Sean Lee. Across those 12 games, he had 84 tackles, ranking 3rd in the category for the Cowboys but having started only three quarters of the season — very respectable. Above average in production. Keep in mind that the Cowboys have a potent duo with Lee back from injury and with their addition of Jaylon Smith, the previous season’s draftee. It was known when Jones drafted Smith that he was recovering and rehabbing from injury and his 2017 season was lost. After finishing out of the running in 2017, the writers of the “Landry Hat” were in support of keeping Hitchens to bring a tough trio of ILBs back for the 2018 campaign — but this was not to be: and Hitchens was released in Free Agency.
Hitchens, like Ragland has weaknesses. Speed for Ragland was the major downgrade but Ragland makes up for it with football moxie and instincts that goes a long way to eliminating speed as a single strike against him. Knowing where to put himself to intercept the ball is exactly what both players excel at. Hitchins length is a detriment but he makes up for it with knowing where to intercept the ball carrier and hitting like a LB who is 10 pounds heaver than his 241 and 2 inches taller. In order to rank similarly according to PFF tells me that Hitchens also has football instinct for the ball.
When he came into the draft in 2014, he had a moderately good rating according to NFL ranking. His draft profile noted that he played bigger than his length (6’0″, which is now viewed as undersized for the NFL) and observed that he “flowed to the ball.” At the time of the draft, after Anthony Hitchens was selected, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, wrote about Hitchens, “…he has some size and had a whole lot of production at Iowa. This might be a little early in the draft for him, as I had him further down the board.” Hitchens ended up being selected in the 4th round.
Nolan Nawrocki, NFL Analyst, had him as a late round selection noting that he was undersized and had difficulty sorting out “play action”. From my impression of his play in 2017, he certainly proved this latter “negative” as a non-factor while also proving that his under-sized ranking was also not valid.
On the weakside, Hitchens is a good fit. On the strong side he lacks the size that would be ideal for fending off blockers to get to the ball carrier. On the other hand, his speed is going to be a big factor in his play — especially alongside a player who is emerging as a major force inside as his player partner demonstrated in 2017. Both players did not have starting experience in the NFL right away, but both had “hot” 2017 seasons. Another positive for the Chiefs is that Hitchens is a run stuffing ILB which gives the Chiefs a solid pair for defending the middle against the run. He does indeed possess a compliment to the strengths of Reggie Ragland and both players have a “nose for the ball.” As both play off of each other’s strengths, the duo should fair very well in defending against the ground game and be a pair of… run stuffing studs.
We won’t know how the players of the pair fare until the pads go on and in preseason when they can show their toughness at the same time.
All the Way Back to Iowa
Going back to his collegiate highlights, and being drafted by the Cowboys, the expectation was that he was not going to replace Sean Lee, but as Lee’s compliment. At the “Landry Hat,” Fansided’s Cowboys offering, the selected game film of Hitchens play at Iowa demonstrate the positives. The author, Marcus Mosher, observed in his article, that bringing in Hitchens would strengthen the Dallas ILB corp which lacked depth behind: Lee, Durant and Carter. His numbers for 2014-2016 indicate that he did more than that, very respectably if you look at his starting out as a depth and S/T player. Here are a few of the gifs of Hitchens from Mosher’s article:
And here’s an INT by Hitchens.
Don’t get me wrong: Hitchens should not be considered a “coverage ILB.” He is adequate. When matched up against tall TE’s or WR’s in a man-up assignment, he will struggle. But in dropping into zone coverage Hitchens is more than adequate, matched well against RB’s for coverage and possessing about 4.70 – 40 yard dash speed.
A Review of Dallas Games
I then went looking for Dallas game film and found the following video on youtube, it’s well worth the review. It demonstrates the type of play I have characterized, including dropping into short zone coverage. Take a peak at this 8:48 video on Hitchens offered by LawNation:
What do I think?
Am I judging the duo as being pro bowl level talent? No, that’s not the reason I am positive. They will play with an extreme edge against the run, a horrid weakness of the Chiefs defense for the past two seasons. Both will play above the NFL average just using 12 games and the stats from 2017 and that frees up Bob Sutton to use his other players to compliment the pair with depth players, such as Eligwe, O’Daniel, or perhaps Ben Niemann – UDFA – Iowa, the same school of Hitchens matriculation.
The next look at ILB’s for the Chiefs include these latest three players – Eligwe, O’Daniel and Smith or Niemann — and how their skills, talents and abilities fit the Chiefs needs for the middle defense very well. Apparently the Chief’s GM believes the same since he signed Hitchens to a multi-year deal.
David Bell – NSLU
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