The 5 most important second half players for the Kansas City Chiefs

Reggie Ragland

The selection of Ragland is almost as obvious as Kpassagnon. Consider the following: Ragland is really just now in his rookie year after missing all of last year with a torn ACL. When the Chiefs traded for Ragland, it was no secret that he was still recovering from the injury and that it would take time until he would see the field.

In the last several weeks, Ragland has regained his strength and has found a place on the field for the Chiefs. Yet even then, it’s going to take several weeks for him to adjust to the pros for the first time while learning to adapt to the Chiefs’ system, coaches and opponents. Each week is a learning curve, which means that Ragland is only going to get better and better in this system.

For now, he’s supplanted any competition as the primary inside linebacker next to Derrick Johnson in the team’s base defense. As he grows, it will be interesting how the Chiefs use KPL and Ragland to plan for the long-term in the heart of their defense. Ragland, after all, came into the NFL as the next great inside linebacker. The Chiefs made the investment to be on the receiving end of what Ragland can grow into for good reason.