Titans playoffs loss was the last straw for Chiefs general manager Brett Veach
Looking at the 2018 draft class, there’s no doubt in my mind that the loss to the Tennessee Titans influenced it. The Chiefs without a first-round pick made their first selection on day two of the draft. Kansas City moved up in the second and third rounds to grab edge rusher Breeland Speaks and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi. No positional group on the entire team underperformed more than the defensive line.
Failing to find any pass rush outside of Justin Houston and Chris Jones, quarterbacks had significant amounts of time in the backfield. The secondary struggled as well, but much of that had to do with the amount of time they were being asked to cover their assignment and not being able to get off the field on third downs. Finding players that could address the needs along the defensive line was the priority in the draft.
Outside linebacker Dee Ford spent almost the entire season with a back injury resulting in outside linebacker Frank Zombo stepping into his place. This allowed teams to entirely focus on Jones and Houston without having to even worry about the other side. Drafting Speaks, which putting him outside seems odd to me, puts a bigger and more powerful force on the outside that will hopefully force teams to recognize or be punished.
With the last two seasons of drafting big edge rushers in Tanoh Kpassagnon and Breeland Speaks, it’s apparent the Chiefs realize that Ford may have the speed to get by in some packages, they need brute strength and size on the outside. It takes them back to when former outside linebacker Tamba Hali was still in his prime.
Kansas City Chiefs
Nnadi will add a huge body in the middle that was proven hard to move in college. Known for his strength to force double teams, it will hopefully help plug the holes between the tackles to force running backs to the outside. Both Speaks and Nnadi are told to be very high motor and aggressive players that bring that “nasty” to the game. While Reid’s comparison of Speaks to Hali and Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens seems a bit blown up to me, I would love to see that happen. Other than maybe the measurables, I will have to wait and see those comparisons.
Kansas City also brought in talent to hopefully replace Parker and possibly safety Daniel Sorensen if not this year than next. Linebacker Dorian O’Daniel who the Chiefs took in with their other third-round pick will play a linebacker/safety role as a downhill pursuit player. Sorensen suffered dramatically when asked to play inside the box last season, but O’Daniel will likely find his role in the defense there. Keeping everything in front of him and attacking the run game and short passing routes.
Safety Armani Watts out of Ole Miss is another candidate that could replace Sorensen down the road but more likely fill the role of Parker at some point. With solid instincts, Watts can react to plays quickly and come down for a good hit. His tackling will need improvement but that’s something he will work on in training camp with the team. Between Watts and O’Daniel, it seems that Veach wasn’t impressed by Sorensen last season either.
The Chiefs did grab a cornerback in the sixth round with Tremon Smith who looks to be a guy that likes to attack the ball at the catch point. It would have been nice to see a secondary member earlier in the draft, but it looked as if Veach was focused on the front seven first and foremost. If Kansas City can find someone opposite of Houston that can attack the quarterback and someone to plug up the middle, the secondary won’t need to be perfect. Finishing drives are the primary focus and giving the offense more opportunities instead of nine-minute trips that end in scores.
Most of these prospects, if not all, are all going to be developmental players that will take a year or two to reach the potential the Chiefs are wanting. It would be great to fix the defense in one offseason, but that’s not how things work. Veach was aggressive this offseason correcting what he saw were the problems, mainly the front seven on the defense, and has added players to bring a new atmosphere to the defense in 2018. Getting back to playing aggressively for four quarters of football.
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Kansas City believes that Bob Sutton can get the defense back to the first few years but would like to improve when it comes to the run game. Even with his predictable play calling and assignments that teams picked up on before the snap, Reid and the Chiefs decided it was a personnel issue and not coordinator issue. While I think there is a mixture of both in there, we will see what happens in 2018 with all the changes surrounding the defensive personnel.