Kansas City Chiefs

How Soon and How Well Will the Chiefs Pick Play: Breeland Speaks

LadnerMorse May 1, 2018 No Comments

 

 

 

 

I’ve got my Magic Ball right here so you don’t have to wait until the season to find out how soon and how well the Kansas City Chiefs draft picks will play. Today I’m looking at Breeland Speaks, the Chiefs first pick which came in the 2nd round, and well, I’m a bit surprised. He does much better this season that I thought he would when the Chiefs first picked him. I’m glad I have this Magic Ball.

 

Let’s begin with the basics: NFL teams will have to block Breeland Speaks. I know that sounds ridiculous but here’s what happens if you don’t… block him.

 

 

 

 

You’d be hard pressed to find tape on Breeland Speaks running the wrong way on a play (no apologies to Dee Ford). You’ll also never hear Speaks speak the words, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” In fact, this is something Andy Reid was sure to point out when he answered questions on Friday evening following the selection of Speaks. Here, the LG tries to cut Speaks legs out from under him but fails:

 

 

 

 

Staying on your feet… or making the play that you should make… those things don’t necessarily make you a good outside linebacker, or defensive end. So, let’s begin with what the Chiefs do expect from Breeland Speaks. First of all, Andy Reid said he’ll start out at outside linebacker and then they’ll try him as a 3rd down rush lineman after that. The next day GM Brett Veach made his expectations of Speaks clear,

 

 

“We think Breeland (Speaks) is a guy that could come in and play and help us on all three downs.”

 

Expectations are one thing. Performance another. So let’s see what else he has to offer:

 

 

 

 

Before you go thinking that Speaks doesn’t set the edge well, these may be the only two plays I’ve seen in which he didn’t do a good job of that. One of my major complaints about Dee Ford has been his consistent inability to set the edge against the run. It’s no wonder that the Chiefs drafted Breeland Speaks just for his attention to the run. It makes sense that their offseason plan was to improve the run defense and if you look at each of the Chiefs first five picks you’ll see that every single one of them can help the run defense (another reason they decided to let Marcus Peters move to L.A.).

 

One of he endearing aspects to Tamba Hali was his constant motor while on the field of play. Breeland Speaks has that same energizer bunny inside of him and it’s one of the reasons they brought him to K.C.. GM Brett Veach also addressed the Chiefs need to improve this offseason when it comes to the run defense:

 

 

“The need was just to get better. We weren’t happy where we were. You play a home playoff game and the team (Titans) drives the ball and chews up nine minutes on the clock… that’s not good enough. Sometimes it just comes down to having guys who are wired right… guys who want to line up and play four quarters of football. Our need is to just get tougher. That’s what these guys did. We feel like these guys did that.”

 

So, Breeland Speaks helps the Chiefs:

 

  • play the run better
  • play tougher
  • play with a non-stop motor

 

Those are positive aspects to bringing Speaks in. However, what everyone really wants to know is, can he get to the QB?

 

 

 

 

 

That was a play he “should have made” because the OT didn’t chip him like he should have which left Speaks only to beat the RB which was an obvious mismatch. 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2017, his junior season, Speaks had 61 tackles, 8.0 tackles for a loss and 7.0 sacks. Some complain that he only had 1.0 sacks as a sophomore but in his three years (freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons) combined he had, 121 tackles, 15.0 tackles for a loss and 9.0 sacks.

 

 

 

 

Surprisingly, the Chiefs may line Breeland Speaks up inside sometimes when they wish to put in all off their “rushy” players and get after the QB. Ole Miss used Speaks there and he had some success but he’ll see most of his snaps at either DE or OLB with the Chiefs. Although, lining him up occasionally at DT is probably a coin they should save for a rainy day.

 

 

 

 

From the right side, it’s Speak with another sack.

 

 

 

 

However, Breeland Speaks is so intense that sometimes he doesn’t draw the line between what is a legal hit and what is not. If he hopes to make it in the new age NFL which limits violent helmet to helmet collisions, then he’ll have to learn to contain his ferocity.

 

 

 

 

On the other hand, I’d rather have some players who need to dial it back than players who don’t know how to dial it up. I can see that Breeland Speaks will have plenty of success in his rookie year and with the help of someone like Justin Houston or Chris Jones he’ll do better than any of us thought. How do I know this? Simply because none of us even thought about him a week ago. Now, seeing the Chiefs acquire both Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon, two hybrid types, it could mean the end for Dee Ford. Veach has stated that he expects Ford to play this year, but to what end? I’m positive that the Chiefs would like to salvage at least part of their first round pick investment in Ford so if he plays well early in the season… and both Speaks and KPass do too… Ford could find himself on the trading block. Consequently, you have to believe that the powers that be have slated Speaks for playing time, early and often.

 

 

 

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