The Outside Linebackers:
In the mix: Dee Ford, Frank Zombo, Jonathan Massaquoi, Dadi Nicolas, Dezman Moses
Justin Houston is going to miss a little time while his knee recovers. How much time is still unknown, but the bigger question may be how KC handles the outside linebacker spots while he is away. Tamba Hali isn’t fighting for a spot, but I do believe that at his age they would prefer to have him as part of a rotation as opposed to being an every down player.
In order for that to happen two of the players listed above have to play well enough to get meaningful snaps while Houston is out. Obviously, the Chiefs are counting on former first round pick Dee Ford being one of those players, but he needs to step up and earn that role because he is going to officially be labeled a bust if it doesn’t happen for him this season.
Zombo is a solid (but not spectacular) veteran stop gap and Massaquoi and Moses look like guys that are good enough to make NFL rosters but not good enough to become regular starters. I know fans are hoping for good things from sixth round pick Dadi Nicolas, but I think he’s going to need some serious coaching and time in the weight room before he can contribute. This is another area where there could be issues unless Ford begins to play like a first round pick.
The Inside Linebackers:
In the mix: Josh Mauga, Ramik Wilson, DJ Alexander, Justin March-Lillard
The Chiefs had to be thrilled about how well Derrick Johnson played last season after coming back from a missed 2014 season. Josh Mauga rebounded from a poor 2014 season and was an average player last year, but it will be interesting if any of the trio of second year linebackers behind him can earn some playing time.
Ramik Wilson played well last preseason and I would think KC would like to see the younger player step up and earn the starting spot over a veteran like Mauga. The wild card here is the undrafted March-Lillard who actually outplayed both of KC’s drafted rookies last season and looked poised to see some playing time before going down with an injury.
With the Chiefs taking their second inside backer off the field in the sub package this may not be the most important camp battle, but it should be highly competitive none the less.
Next: Corners