Kansas City Chiefs: 5 free agent targets for the defense

Anthony Hitchens – Linebacker – Dallas

While I’m a HUGE Reggie Ragland fan and believe he will have a significant role in the Chiefs defense for years to come, I’m worried about the starting inside spot next to him. With Derrick Johnson gone the assumption was that Kevin Pierre-Louis would be re-signed and start there. That could still happen, but an offseason arrest could potentially make that less likely. Plus, while KPL did show promise, he wasn’t as high on my confidence list as Ragland was. So if the Chiefs look elsewhere for their other inside starting linebacker, I hope they go after Anthony Hitchens of the Dallas Cowboys.

First, Hitchens is only 25 years old, so he could definitely be more than a short term space filler. He has plenty of starting experience and with DJ gone, it would be nice to put someone experienced next to Ragland in the base defense. The Chiefs have had issues stopping the run in recent seasons and I definitely think Hitchens could help there. Check out this tweet from Pro Football Focus:

In case you haven’t seen much of Hitchens and are wondering if he is just some big gap filling linebacker, he’s not. He’s actually a smaller inside linebacker at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds. He’s at his best when he can run to the ball. That actually works with Ragland being the more physical backer (6-foot-2 and 258 pounds) that takes blockers head on. Hitchens may not make the NFL’s list of best coverage linebackers but he isn’t a liability in coverage and can stay on the field on third down.

While Hitchens won’t be cheap, he should be more affordable than other inside linebackers like Navorro Bowman, Avery Williamson, and Preston Brown. I believe the combination of Ragland and Hitchens would give the Chiefs a good young pair of inside linebackers that could anchor their defense for several years to come.

Next up, let’s talk pass rush.