The Kansas City Chiefs have become football savants at finding Undrafted Free Agents over the past few years. With Daniel Sorensen, Byron Pringle, Ben Niemann, Tershawn Wharton, and Tommy Townsend, to name but a few, there’s more than a good chance each year now that the Chiefs will pan for gold in the stream of UDFAs and come out with a nugget.
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In a piece, a week ago, called: “Chiefs UDFAs: Where’s Wharton” several players were highlighted, but not Marlon Character Jr.. Character is a a bit of a baffling anomaly. Although he ran a 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at the Louisville Pro Day, he also ran a 4.42 40 when he came out of high school. The slower time this past Spring may be a part fo the reason he wasn’t drafted, but maybe he should have been. Opportunity, Brett Veach.
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Anytime I see a player being taken by K.C., I like to consider who he was practicing against and in the case of Marlon Character, that may be important. First, he had to guard one of the speedier WR prospects in this draft every day in practice and that would be Tutu Atwell who ran a 4.32 40. Throw in Dez Fitzpatrick, who ran a 4.46, and you likely have a DB in Character who is used to going up against players with NFL speed. If you can get a player who is already used to the speed of the NFL, he may be ahead in the transition process, since most rookie say they had to get used to the speed of the game after their first few weeks in the league.
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In case you missed it, here a short 1:09 video Chiefs.com ran about Character:
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From si.com, Matthew McGavic wrote about Character:
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“Character initially began his collegiate career at Auburn, but never saw the field in his lone year there and transferred to Northwest Mississippi CC for the 2017 season. Ranked as the No. 1 JUCO safety in the Class of 2018, he initially committed to South Carolina before flipping to Louisville on National Signing Day.”
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McGavic also added this about Marlon Character:
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“The Atlanta native quietly put together a solid year for the Cardinals. He finished with 37 tackles (29 solo), 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, seven pass deflections (second on the team) and his first career interception.”
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The tale of the tape is a mixed bag for Character. I watched one play vs Miami in 2019 when he gets completely turned around and allows an easy TD pass. I guess you can find a play like that when covering anyone, but it was disturbing none the less. Character was given an extra year by the NCAA and could return to Louisville because of the pandemic but he decided to throw his name in the ring for the 2021 NFL Draft.
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One trait the Chiefs usually get right is choosing players with high character, and they appear to have that in Marlon Character. Here’s a copy of the letter he wrote to his Louisville faithful upon making a decision to forgo another year there:
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Here are seven plays by Marlon Character. I’ll give you the breakdown follow the clip:
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Play 1: Character is the gunner on the punt coverage and uses his speed to get around the defender then makes a well timed hit on the punt returner.
Play 2: Plays the run well in support and comes up to help make a hit in the hole on the RB.
Play 3: Character comes off his man to make a great hit jarring the ball loose from a TE who doesn’t penetrate the goal line. He uses his shoulder and his technique is excellent.
Play 4: Character lines up more than 9 yards off his man and comes off of him to make an interception. He keeps his eyes in the backfield which can be a benefit at times and a detriment at others. Here, he makes the right play.
Play 5: Shows that Character is not afraid t come up and play the run in support.
Play 6: Illustrates that Character will stick with a play and he pushes the RB out of bounds down field.
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Marlon Character showed improvement in his last year at Louisville highlighted by his PFF grades. The Chiefs need a corner more than they need a Safety and I see him fitting in more as a Safety than a CB, initially anyway. However, he could be a scheme fit for Steve Spagnuolo (as well as a solid gunner for Dave Toub on Special Teams). Chiefs Wire’s Charles Goldman has this to say about Character:
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Steve Spagnuolo’s defense in Kansas City also happens to run Cover 2 looks at a very high rate. Over 15% of their defensive snaps during the regular season were Cover 2, with two deep safeties and zone coverage underneath, good for a top-10 rate among all NFL teams. Louisville’s Marlon Character excels in this type of coverage and had a breakout season in 2020. Farrar (Doug Farrar of Chiefs Wire) likes Character because he’s somewhat reckless with how he throws his body around, but he also sees him as a fit with the Chiefs because of his success when lined up in Cover 2.
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Goldman goes on to quote Doug Farrar who also said this about Marlon Character:
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Last season, he was targeted six times in Cover-2, allowing just one catch for five yards, no touchdowns, and (an interception)
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Scheme fit or not, in all the film I watched of Louisville’s defense in 2019 and 2020, there’s not a lot of times when Marlon Character was on the field. He started 27 out of 35 game at Louisville over the past three years. That’s another good reason why he may not have been drafted. From NFL.com:
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Character was never a full-time starter with the Cardinals, but displayed playmaking ability. He started six of 11 games in 2020, making 37 tackles (three for loss), intercepting one pass and breaking up six others. Character started four of 12 games in 2018 (30 tackles, one pass breakup) and played in 11 games as a reserve (16 tackles) in his first year at Louisville.
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When Character did get on the field, he lined up at corner. Farrar also likened Character’s physicality to that of Ronnie Lott, in that he throws himself around the field without a care for his own body, or anyone else’s. It’s highly likely that this is a reason the Chiefs DB coaches, Sam Madison and Dave Merritt were attracted to him.
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I want to take a moment to give a shout out to the Chiefs scouting department:
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Director of College Scouting – Ryne Nutt
College Scouting Coordinator – Greg Castillo
National Scout – Trey Koziol, Cassidy Kaminski
Pro College Scout – Jason Lamb
Area Scouts – Willie Davis, Terry Delp, Pat Sperduto, David Hinson
Scouting Assistant – Ricky Seale
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These are the people who are the one’s who deserve the credit for bringing the players to the attention of Brett Veach. If we’re going to go down that rabbit hole, we must recognize them as the true heroes of that story. If Marlon Character makes it onto the Chiefs 53 man roster, they deserve credos for sure. Just as they should receiver for all the prospects they scout. They’re kind of like the marines on a blind ops mission: they may return victorious, but others get to declare it a win. They are the invisible conquerors… who happen to do most of the grunt work out in the field.
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Marlon Character Summary
It’s hard to tell if Character has what it takes to make it with the Chiefs. Yes, he’s a scheme fit… and yes, he has that devil may care physical approach the Chiefs like… but is he quick enough, and twitchy enough to switch to man coverage if needed at the drop of a hat. We know that Steve Spagnuolo loves versatile guys who can not only play multiple positions but play in a variety of schemes. That way, he doesn’t have to pull players on and off the field from one down to the next and he can thereby disguise coverages more easily. If Marlon Character has that kind of ability to adapt to whatever Spags is throwing at him, he should be able to scratch out a place on the roster. We know Veach hasn’t re-signed CB Bashaud Breeland and that might not be just because he can’t afford him. It could be because the Chiefs already have a guy… in house… who can step in and provide what Sam Madison and Dave Merritt need for their defensive backfield. Could it be Marlon Character. My guess is that it’s probably Mike Hughes or Deandre Baker, but if it’s not it might just be because of a guy like Marlon Character.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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