Can the Chiefs overtake the Broncos in 2015?
By Chris Clark
Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
If we could go back to this time last year and I told you that after the 1st game the Chiefs would be without Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito for the rest of the year you would have guessed the defense would have had a huge drop off from 2013. While in some areas the defense did struggle they were able to become one of the best pass defense teams in the NFL. Against the run they allowed teams to run over them much of the season but as a whole the Chiefs defense showed lots of promise fighting through its share of injuries.
Headed into 2015, if the Chiefs defense stays healthy it should easily be a top 3 defense in the NFL. Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito return to help bolster a very lackluster run defense.
Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
At this point the status of Pro-Bowl safety Eric Berry is not known but with him this defense would be even harder to move the ball on. The Chiefs rewarded Allen Bailey with a contract during the season and then took care of All-Pro LB Justin Houston before the franchise deadline on July 15th.
Dontari Poe continues to show how unique of a player he is with his ability to eat up double teams and play over 75% of the snaps. While the Chiefs must find a way to get Poe rest in 2015 they will have more options available as Jaye Howard emerged as a player that could be counted on for limited snaps toward the end of the 2014 season. The Chiefs also drafted Rakeem Nunez-Roches who should be able to give Poe a little more rest down the stretch. Add in the pass rushing duo of Justin Houston and Tamba Hali with Dee Ford being able to sub in as well and come off the edge and the Chiefs defense will be difficult for offenses to handle.
Kansas City brought back Ron Parker on a 5 year contract and added Tyvon Branch to Husain Abdullah as the main men that will patrol the back-end of the Chiefs defense. At corner the Chiefs have Sean Smith coming off a Pro Bowl caliber year and he will be starting across from second year corner Phillip Gaines. While Gaines looked lost at times at the start of the 2014 season, by the end of the year he looked like a completely different corner and has carried that into OTA’s and minicamp to this point. The Chiefs also added first round pick Marcus Peters and third round pick Steven Nelson to the CB group which gives them a very deep stable of corners that should help buy the pass rush more time to sack the QB.
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