Free Agency Mock Draft: The Seven Most Impactful Free Agents For The Kansas City Chiefs
By Ben Nielsen
Oct 17, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Dan Williams against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Round Seven: Dan Williams
Signing Williams could take the Chiefs’ defensive front seven to who new level when it comes to stopping the run and rushing the passer.
The clear reasons for signing Williams are pretty obvious on the surface. He’s a true nose tackle with a very strong ability against the run. When the Chiefs go to their base 3-4 defense they could easily plug in Willimas at nose tackle to give Poe a breather while losing nothing when it comes to stopping the run. In 2014 Williams had a +11.7 run grade in the regular which ranked 8th amongst all defensive tackles. That’s an obvious upgrade for the Chiefs.
Between Williams, DeVito, and Allen Bailey the Chiefs should be much improved against the run on the defensive line, even without Poe on the field. That’s an significant improvement for the Chiefs’ defensive and a move that could send the unit to a whole new level of dominance.
Where Williams really intrigues me, however, is when the Chiefs move into their 2-4 alignment. Between Poe (340 pounds) and Williams (330 pounds) the Chiefs would have 670 pounds of human insanity clogging up the middle of the line with Tamba Hali and Justin Houston rushing from the edge. In December the Chiefs were using Dee Ford as a blitzing inside linebacker in that formation with Hali and Houston coming on the outside. With Williams and Poe eating up blockers in the middle, how exactly is an opposing offense supposed to stop all three of Houston, Hali, and Ford?
The other benefit of Williams is he a rotational player, he’s not a guy who is going to demand to play 800 snaps a season so rotating him with Poe shouldn’t be an issue with him when it comes to ego. You get an excellent upgrade to your run defense, a quality backup for Poe, and an interesting twist to some of your situation pass rushing plays. An quality signing indeed.
Between Poe, Williams, Bailey, DeVito, Jaye Howard, and Vance Walker, you have one heck of a defensive line. And if one of Mike Catapano or Jerrel Worthy bust out in the preseason then you have a defensive line that would be one of the best in the NFL. It would be an intriguing direction for a Chiefs defense that isn’t too far away from being an elite one.