Titans playoffs loss was the last straw for Chiefs general manager Brett Veach
Given the free agency signings and draft class for the Kansas City Chiefs, it paints a clear picture on the wall regarding the defense especially. For too long the Chiefs defense has failed to get off the field on third downs and been mowed over by rushing attacks. That was the story of the Wild-Card game after the Chiefs allowed the Titans to run nine minutes off the clock and score a touchdown while rushing the ball down their throats.
During head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s time in Kansas City, the Chiefs have been near the bottom of the league in stopping the run all but one season. Veach gave a press conference following the draft on his thought process with the selections in this year’s draft.
“Not good enough,” Veach said. “Sometimes it just comes down to having guys that are wired right. Guys that want to line up and play four quarters of football. Our need is to get tougher.”
This is not the kind of thing you hear coming out of football executives, but I love it. Kansas City entirely failed to play four quarters of football against Tennessee, and it showed on both sides of the ball. Veach had enough. He started off right away bringing in guys that fit that aggressive mold that he was looking for and continued it through the draft.
Before the Super Bowl, Veach had already locked down a deal with the Washington Redskins sending quarterback Alex Smith away in return for a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller. Following his breakout season in 2017, Fuller has similar playstyle and traits as that of cornerback Marcus Peters who the team traded for peanuts to the Los Angeles Rams not long after. Could this be due to lack of aggression and unwillingness to attack the run game and play four quarters of football? I don’t think we will ever know the answer to that question.
Without star safety Eric Berry on the field, the Chiefs lacked the attitude and aggressive playstyle on defense. It became entirely too easy for teams to run against the Chiefs nickel and dime packages without Berry there to lay down a big hit last season. During the losing streak midway through the season, often you could see players giving up on plays or walking away with their heads down. Veach wanted to get rid of that kind of negativity and find players that were confident and bring a “nasty” to the defense.
Veach took to the offseason to release players that no longer fit this role in his eyes. Releasing veterans like safety Ron Parker, inside linebacker Derrick Johnson (also due to age), and defensive tackle Bennie Logan. He added to the middle of the defense with inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens who is known as a run stuffer and aggressive breaking through the line. He also brought in defensive tackle Xavier Williams.