Chiefs inside linebackers move from weakness to strength

The inside linebacker position was a worry for many fans in Kansas City this offseason, but could it now be a strength?

One of the big questions this offseason was at the inside linebacker position. Many fans were worried about not only who is going to be Derrick Johnson’s successor, but who will play alongside him in 2017.

While the Chiefs drafted an inside linebacker in the fifth round of the draft, Ukeme Eligwe, many fans were hoping they would draft someone much higher. The Chiefs have struggled to find a solid solution next to Johnson for a few years now. Not to mention with Johnson’s injury toward the end of last season, many were panicking about his return.

Since Brett Veach took over the GM spot, he has made it a point to take action in adding depth to the inside linebacker position. Veach brought back veteran linebacker Josh Mauga to give some competition at the position. He made a trade with Seattle trading away special teams Pro Bowler D.J. Alexander for Kevin Pierre-Louis. He also traded a fourth round pick in 2019 for second-year linebacker Reggie Ragland of Buffalo, which also meant Mauga was cut.

In my opinion, Mauga was brought in more for competition to Ramik Wilson considering Justin March-Lillard was still recovering from injury. Someone to push Wilson to succeed. I don’t think that there was much thought that Mauga would be actually starting for the Chiefs in 2017, let alone making the roster.

Let’s take a look at the depth of the inside linebacker position.

Derrick Johnson

While coming off his second Achilles tear, he has looked healthy in the preseason. It has yet to be seen if Johnson is fully back, but he will be starting in the week one game against New England. This is where we will see if he is fully back or not.

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Going into his 13th year at the age of 34, it will be interesting to see if Johnson can look like the Elite player he has been for many years. You have to wonder how much the injuries over the years will have an effect on him this year.

Johnson is by far one of the best run stoppers in the league at his position and it showed how much the Chiefs missed having him on the field when he got hurt late in 2016. While the Chiefs have brought in more talent along the defensive line, there’s nothing like having DJ there to knock a running back lights out.

It’s possible you will see him rotate in and out to preserve him for the playoffs this year. Wilson possibly sliding over while someone like Ragland comes in for the other spot.

Ramik Wilson

Just a year ago, Ramik Wilson was competing against Justin March-Lillard for the starting job next to DJ and lost it. Now, March-Lillard did not even make the 53 man roster after sustaining an injury last year.

Wilson stepped in for a majority of the games after March went down, but was nothing to brag about. He would have his flash plays here and there but wouldn’t stand out very much consistently.

2017 has been a completely different look for Wilson. Not only did he look good in camp on the three days I went to St. Joe, he has looked like a whole new player in the preseason as well. A lot of his progression he says is due to the help of Derrick Johnson.

"“(The difference) is just knowing what type of plays I’ll get — (it’s) play recognition,” Wilson said. “I’ve been doing my film study with D.J., who has been helping me out a lot.”"

Wilson has looked a lot less hesitant and faster at recognizing where the play is going. He has done an excellent job at plugging up the run lanes. This forces the running back to change direction and usually into another defender like Derrick Johnson.

Reggie Ragland /

The Chiefs made a trade with the Buffalo Bills dealing them a 2019 fourth round pick for 2016 second round pick inside linebacker Reggie Ragland. Although the former Alabama linebacker has not played a regular season snap due to tearing his ACL last year in training camp.

Many fans thought that this was the reason the Bills were so willing to trade him for so little. The fact of the matter is, the Bills are having a fire sale right now. Just about anyone on that roster could go at any moment.

The Bills are also changing their defense back to a 4-3 scheme after the firing of Rex Ryan. Ragland is a 3-4 thumper type linebacker who would not be able to succeed in a 4-3 scheme. However, he fits perfectly in the scheme Bob Sutton runs who was working under Rex Ryan in New York for numerous years.

While he is still not fully back from his injury, that has little concern for me. There is no rush with how Ramik Wilson has looked and those kinds of injuries take time. Ragland is the type of linebacker that the Chiefs have been looking for all these years though.

Ragland is a hard hitting, bruiser if you will. He makes his money by taking on blockers and getting into the backfield. Probably the best thing that he does well, he delivers a hard punishing hit.

If he can get back to his days in Alabama, the Chiefs just struck gold on a player by only having to give up a 2019 fourth round pick for someone who had first round potential last year.

Kevin Pierre-Louis

The other trade that the Chiefs made since Brett Veach stepped in was sending special teams Pro Bowler D.J. Alexander to the Seattle Seahawks for linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis.

While Pierre-Louis has not lived up to the hype of what Seattle had hoped for, he is still a great special teamer. When watching his film from 2016, he seemed to be a better fit on defense than Alexander did last year as well.

With his sideline-to-sideline speed, he chases down the ball carrier pretty well. He had a really good game against the Titans on Thursday night being involved in five tackles early on in the game. You might also remember his special teams performance against the Bengals where he blocked a punt that was recovered by Kareem Hunt and had a great tackle on another punt return.

I don’t think that Pierre-Louis will be starting a game anytime soon, but if he needed to for a couple games, I wouldn’t be panicking.

Ukeme Eligwe

Rookie fifth-round pick Ukeme Eligwe showed off his raw athleticism on Thursday night against the Titans. Not only did he have six tackles on the first two drives, but he also tipped a pass and then caught his own tipped pass. This play was a sure sign of how athletic this guy really is.

Eligwe is a very raw talent that will need some time to develop. He has some speed to him and will most likely be that sideline to sideline linebacker. Eligwe has also shown some real flash on special teams.

Dave Toub, special teams coach of the Chiefs, had this to say about Eligwe right before preseason started,

"“I have already got him started on punt team, so that says a lot about him,” Toub said of Eligwe—the former Georgia Southern inside linebacker. “I really see a bright future for him. He may not be with me for a long time because he may be on defense because he is that good.”"

Toub has been very good at turning young players into big talent. Some of the other players he pointed out early on were Daniel Sorensen and D.J. Alexander.

Where does that leave the Chiefs?

Going into the offseason, the only sure thing linebacker for me was Derrick Johnson. The only other one that made the team from last year was Ramik Wilson who has had a tremendous camp and preseason. We also can’t forget that a healthy Justin Houston is a shutdown run defender.

Brett Veach has made it a point to increase the depth and talent at the middle linebacker position. The Chiefs have increased the depth and talent from last year by a huge margin in my opinion. Between the defensive line improving and the new inside linebackers, I think the Chiefs run defense will be much improved this year.

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