Kansas City Chiefs: Early position impressions from training camp
The Linebackers
* Reggie Ragland was out with a knee injury and based on what I saw in camp let’s hope he’s ready to roll in time for the regular season.
* Anthony Hitchens was definitely heads and shoulders above any other inside linebacker on the field when I was in camp. He plays with a lot of energy and I think Chiefs fans are going to love this guy. He was pretty solid in coverage drills and even when they weren’t officially tackling Hitchens was laying into guys a little bit. I think he’s going to prove to be right up there with Sammy Watkins in terms of impact free agent additions this season.
* The other inside linebackers were pretty…..meh. Ukeme Eligwe looks decent as a run stopper and will likely be the starter in the base if Ragland is out. However, I saw Eligwe bite on some fakes a few times and he’ll certainly be a drop off from Ragland.
* Some fans seem disappointed that Dorian O’Daniel isn’t challenging for a starting spot in the defense. My question for them is, what spot would that be? O’Daniel was drafted to be a special teams star and coverage linebacker. The guy is like six foot and 220 pounds. He’s too small to be a player in the base defense and he isn’t fast enough to switch positions and be a full time defensive back. If O’Daniel can prove his coverage skills worthy he may see playing time in the sub package as a coverage linebacker. That’s what you want to watch for in the preseason. In the practices I watched he didn’t get any snaps with the first string but its still early.
* Besides O’Daniel, another rookie linebacker that looks pretty good in coverage is undrafted rookie Ben Niemann. I don’t know if he has any shot to make the roster, but he’s better than a lot of ILBs in coverage from what I saw. Word is that Niemann is good on special teams as well so if you’re looking for a dark horse guy that could sneak onto the roster to watch he might be worth a look.
* The Chiefs were rotating Justin Houston, Dee Ford, Breeland Speaks, and Tanoh Kpassagnon at outside linebacker with the first team. That’s good news for a few reasons. First, both Speaks and Kpass look like they will be able to contribute this season based on what I saw in camp. Second, Frank Zombo didn’t get any first string reps the days I was there. YES!!!
* Speaks looks a little heavy and unnatural when he drops back. However, his bull rush against offensive tackles is no joke. I know Eric Fisher isn’t exactly the world’s biggest offensive tackle but on one play I saw Speaks walk him right back into the quarterback. On another play Speaks and Kpass lined up on the same side. Speaks started on the outside but pulled inside behind Kpass and ended up getting great pressure up the middle. I think the Chiefs will find ways to get him involved early in this defense.
* Speaking of Kpass he looks leaner and more comfortable at outside linebacker this season.
* The biggest thing I noticed with the outside linebackers is how much they moved them around while I was there. Houston and Ford swapped sides at times and lined up on the same side (like Kpass and Speaks did) at times as well. If KC really does get more creative with how they use their pass rushers that could be a great thing for this defense.
* If I’m being honest I didn’t watch much of the other outside linebackers because I just don’t see any of them pushing the top four for playing time (and I just didn’t want to watch Zombo).
Next up the cornerbacks.