Kansas City Chiefs gradecard: The defense

Welcome back Chiefs fans to the second part of my pre-training camp positional grade card. Last week I gave grades for each of the offensive positions and this week its time for the defense. If you missed last week’s post I encourage you to start with it (You can find it HERE). The positional groups I will be grading this week will be the defensive line, outside linebackers, inside linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties.

If you have read last week’s post and would like to skip ahead to the defensive grades on the next slide you are welcome to. If you didn’t (or you need a reminder) the following is from last week’s post on how I figured these positional grades.

"Grades will be based on a few different criteria, but the bulk of it will come down to two main components, proven NFL starting talent and depth. In order to get a good grade on my report card the Chiefs need to have an above average starter that has proven himself in the NFL AND some quality depth behind that starter. For instance, let’s pretend the Chiefs have Joe Montana (in his prime) at quarterback but the only other QB on the roster is Tyler Palko. I’m not giving the quarterback position an “A” because they would be one injury away from…..well let’s not go down that road again, you get the idea. At the same time, while depth is great, if the starter is just average the grade won’t be very high either."

Let’s start the defensive positions off with the big guys up front.

Next: Grading KC's Defensive Line