Chiefs: The Niemann Brothers, Together Again? – Let me say this right up front, if the Kansas City Chiefs draft, or sign LB Nick Niemann as an Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA), he can not be the only Linebacker they pick up during this draft season. If Nick does end up with K.C., it won’t be because he isn’t talented and the Chiefs just want to be the host city for their old home week soiree. No, this Niemann may be better than his older brother, Ben.
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The following stats are provided by SportsReferecne.com:
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It might look like Ben has had a significantly better career at Iowa than Nick did. However, Nick played in 31 games while Ben complied his stats over a 45 game span. That calculates to Ben playing in 30+% more games than his little bro. Now, I don’t need to do the math for anyone to see that it means Nick’s stats were better, when seen increased by 30% (for example, if you increase Nicks total tackles by 30%, you get 221 tackles to Ben’s 199).
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Chiefs LB, Ben Niemann, was an UDFA for K.C. in 2018 and has spent all of his past three seasons with the team. Ben’s snaps with the Chiefs have increased gradually going from: 5% in 2018, to 36% in 2019, to 43% in 2020. Plus, it looks like DC Steve Spagnuolo has him in this future plans as the Chiefs decided to not to keep starting LB Damien Wilson, and he was sign by the Jacksonville Jags this offseason.
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In the meantime, Nick, an Iowa graduate just like his older brother, has played all of his four years of his collegiate career there and also enjoyed the last two seasons with his father/coach, Jay, who was hired as their defensive line coach in 2019. The question comes down to: can Nick play the linebacking position at a Pro Level? Once you see some of his tape, you may think he’s better than Ben. I am most impressed when a player shines in the Senior Bowl, playing against other who are likely NFL bound and have similar levels of talent. Here’s three standout plays by Nick Niemann at this yer’s Senior Bow:
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Sometimes a play can tell you a lot about a player, sometimes not. On these three plays, we learn a bunch about Nick Niemann:
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1. The first play is a successful blitz and he gets there fast enough to catch the QB by surprise and he can’t escape.
2. The second play is a Tackle for a Loss (TFL) in the backfield on a RB, and he does a good job of wrapping up.
3. The third play, he’s in man coverage and comes off his man to make a solid tackle in the flat, another TFL.
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Next, Robbie Foley of the Cedar Rapids Gazette in Iowa breaks down two plays of LB Nick Niemann during their game against USC in the 2019 Holiday Bowl. I’ve edited this video to bring you the highlights:
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Each of these plays was a play call but the Iowas coaches. That’s important to understand because the Chiefs defense operates the same way. K.C. has no defensive plays in which everyone is set free to just go get em. For every offensive play call, there is a defensive play call. That may sound simplistic but if DC Steve Spagnuolo doesn’t have his players all moving within the same play structure, on any given play, they fail. Is there a certain amount of guessing going on for a DC. Yes, but that never ever happens for Andy Reid on offense. I know, Patrick Mahomes has made Reid’s offense unpredictable, but that’s not the same task that as DC has. Spags counteracts this — unknowing what an opposing offense will call — by creating an attacking style defense. That puts opposing offense, and more importantly, their Offensivre Coordinators, on their heels.
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So, what does any of that have to do with Nick Niemann’s performances, which is what we’re talking about here? It means, the reason his brother, Ben Niemann, is still on the roster, when others are not, is because he can take directions and follow through on those commands. In this respect, being a good LB is very similar to being a soldier. If you don’t follow the game plan on every play, you die. In this case, you may have lost the most recent Super Bowl because both Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo had the wrong game plans, and their players were just executing their wishes… which didn’t work at all.
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As I have examined many draft prospects, especially at LB, including the brother of Ben Niemann, and he’s risen to the top of my attention because he’s not only a team player who doesn’t need to be “the star,” but he might even be better than Ben.
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If you watch it again, pay special attention to the Iowa DT and DE who make blocks to hold up the USC linemen, which allows Niemann to get through to the USC QB. It’s that kind of coordination which plays well in the Chiefs defense, one of the reasons I can see Veach trying to sign Nick Niemann as an UDFA.
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Everyone’s draft board is different and that’s the only explanation I can come up with for why Nick Niemann is not listed higher by the ranking services, #383 by DrafTek, #370 by CBS Sports, and Niemann doesn’t show up at all on Matt MIller’s top 300 prospects in the draft. Nick’s 40 yard dash time was a 4.60 and although that’s not a blazing time for an outside linebacker, some teams have talked to him about putting on weight and playing in the middle for them.
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I’m not saying Nick Niemann could be a day one starter or even get starters reps in year one, but he certainly appears to be capable of providing the same kind of solid high IQ LB play that his brother already provides. The upside is, he can start out on Special Teams and work his way in, just like dear ole brother Ben.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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