Kansas City Chiefs pre-training camp thoughts and predictions

3. The Defensive Line Is Set To Dominate

While their are some questions at both linebacker and in the secondary on defense the big guys up front look poised to have one of the best seasons we’ve seen in quite some time. KC returns their top three defensive lineman from last season. Allen Bailey is a physical force who is underrated nationally. Jaye Howard was re-signed for much less than I thought he would command and may be KC’s best all around defensive lineman. Dontari Poe is one of the best space eaters in the game and will also be playing for a contract. Those three alone should give opposing offensive lines fits but then you factor in the Chiefs top pick Chris Jones and it becomes downright scary.

Jones has enormous upside and the fact that KC can ease him along because of their depth is a plus. He can fill in pretty much anywhere on the line to help keep the starters fresh and may even add some pass rush help in the sub package from day one. Keep in mind just how strong KC is up front on the defense if you hear early reports of the offensive line struggling. Going head to head with KC’s big dogs every day will be like trial by fire for the offensive line.

4. The Key To The Revamped Secondary Is The Pass Rush

A lot has already been said about the loses of Sean Smith, Husain Abdullah, and Tyvon Branch to the secondary. I certainly agree that KC will miss those players tremendously and are going to need young players to really step up if the back end of their defense is going to be as good as it was last season. That having been said, it’s the pass rush that will have the greatest impact on the secondary.

Anyone that follows football closely knows how connected the pass rush and pass coverage of a team are. That’s true for every team. Chiefs fans need to keep this in mind as camp and eventually the preseason plays out. Justin Houston likely won’t see any live game action and with Tamba Hali’s increasing age his snaps may be limited as well. That means most of KC’s young defensive backs that are fighting to earn a role on this team will often have Dee Ford and the other reserve pass rushers applying the pressure. I’m hoping Ford takes a big step forward but if he doesn’t then quarterbacks may have plenty of time to find one of the young Kansas City defensive backs that may be a step out of position. When you factor in that teams often don’t use their full blitz package in preseason its not far fetched to think that KC may have to cover a lot longer than they will when they eventually have Houston and Hali out there. Keep that in mind before you start freaking out about the young secondary.

Finally, let’s talk about some guys that are going to step up during camp.

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