Chiefs draft: Is Ben Boulware a possible DJ replacement?

With another early exit in the playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs offseason is underway. The most important part of that time happens to also be my favorite par;, the draft!

One position the Chiefs should look to upgrade is middle linebacker. Derrick Johnson has been a rock for the franchise for over a decade, but his time is most likely over. Even if he does manage to come back from a second torn Achilles in three years, the Chiefs need to plan his replacement now. Other linebackers on the team have proven to be ineffective or injury-prone and thus undependable. So while drafting a franchise quarterback should be goal number one for Kansas City, finding a new anchor for the defense is important.

Luckily for the Chiefs this is a deep middle linebacker draft. I’ve zoned in on one in particular that I see as a great fit in Kansas City. He is Clemson hero Ben Boulware.

Boulware finished off his four-year career at Clemson by winning the 2016 ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Shortly after that he won the 2016 Jack Lambert Award given to the nation’s top linebacker. He then led his Clemson defense to a National Championship. He recorded six tackles including two for loss in the game earning him the Defensive MVP award; the same award he won following the 2015 Orange Bowl.

Despite all these awards and accomplishments, many draft analysts have Boulware rated as a middle to late-round draft pick. After reviewing film of Boulware against South Carolina, Louisville, and Alabama, I can understand the hesitation of some. Boulware is undersized at 6-foot-0 and 235 pounds. Watching game film you can see where this size is a disadvantage for him. When a lineman was able to engage him, Boulware had a hard time getting off the block. In these scenarios he got handled by one lineman and saw runs able to go right by him.

The other blemish on his record is his lack of speed. It’s hard to put numbers next to this blemish until after the combine. Watching film, though, you can see times that his speed has been an issue. There were plays that stood out when he hesitated on his read and wasn’t able to make up for it.  The speed issue shows up the most in coverage. He will need work on coverage skills in the pros as he’ll need to learn techniques to make up for his lack of speed.

While I see these as valid points, I also think you miss the on the field player if you are only looking at his combine numbers. The player on the field was the unquestionable emotional and physical leader of the Clemson Tigers. He plays with a passion, physical toughness, smarts and mean streak combination that has been missing in Kansas City.

It’s clear from watching film that Boulware is no stranger to the film room. There were a handful of plays in each game I watched where it was clear he recognized the play and knew where the ball was going before the snap. That kind of pre-snap recognition shows his in game awareness as well as his pregame preparation. This ability will help Boulware overcome his size & speed deficiencies in the NFL. If you already can read where the play is going you can get beat blockers to the spot so they can’t get a block on you. You also can get away with being slower if you can get a head start on where the ball carrier will be.

Once Boulware reads these plays he hits the whole and has great tackling technique. There were a few times he would go for the monster hit and go for the shoulder tackler, but when he wrapped up the runner went down. Boulware showed off these skills when he recorded 17 tackles against Louisville and Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson. Whatever team drafts him, he will be one of the best tacklers on the team the minute he steps on the field.

My favorite part of Boulware is his aggressive and mean streak. He’s an old school seek and destroy middle linebacker. He plays the game at 100 mph the whole time and doesn’t apologize for it. When he hits you he sends a message and if you didn’t get it, he has no problem getting in your face to remind you. After games I’ve heard opposing team fans call him dirty; I did not see any dirty plays from him. I saw aggressive plays that he took to the limit. Unnecessary hits at times, but not anything dirty.

Combine those things with a proven leader both on and off the field, you have a can’t miss player in my opinion. I see his floor would be a special teams hammer like former Chief Mike Maslowski. I put his ceiling somewhere between Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas. Combine that high floor high ceiling potential with the ability to get for a third day price, and Ben Boulware is my steal of the draft.