Kansas City Chiefs: Three defensive free agents that make sense

The Kansas City Chiefs have a few defensive holes to fill. Here are some names to watch for potential defensive help in free agency.

Since the recent hire of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and the influx of members that have come aboard the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff this offseason, optimism is the term coming to mind when observing the crew being assembled.

Switching to a 4-3 scheme, opposed to the 3-4 front former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton lived and died by, the aggressive mentality Spagnuolo is bringing to the table hopefully bodes well for a group that ranked 30th in the NFL defensively last season. Although it seems the general direction of the Chiefs defense is trending upwards, plenty of work lies ahead of general manager Brett Veach in the upcoming draft and the testing of the free agent market.

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Plenty of names remain unclaimed, many of which could become solid acquisitions for Kansas City if they take care of in house duties beforehand. Extending Chris Jones, franchise tagging or extending Dee Ford, and possibly restructuring Justin Houston’s contract sit atop the list in rebuilding the defensive personnel.

Beefing up the secondary and discovering players who fit well in the 4-3 scheme by way of the draft or free agency needs to be a constant round the clock job for Veach and company. Not to be the biggest spender, but to be the most active.

Without further ado, here are three names to keep an eye on for the Chiefs to scoop up before training camp in July.

Vinny Curry, 30, Defensive End:

Vinny Curry played last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which he started 7 games and appeared in 12. He personifies the mold of a 4-3 caliber player. However, after signing a 3-year $23 million dollar deal with the Buccaneers in before the 2018 season, he was released back on February 12th when declining to take a pay cut.

Playing for Andy Reid in his final season with Philadelphia in 2012, the 4-3 scheme was Curry’s set up for years 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018. In 2017, he set a career high in combined tackles (42), solos (25), assisted (17), tackles for loss (10), and quarterback hits (18). With Allen Bailey hitting the market in 2019, the thought of Curry taking his spot or at least providing depth in the rotation isn’t too much of an imaginative stretch.

Earl Thomas, 29, Safety

This name should be well known to Chiefs fans everywhere after the debacle that ensued before Veach got the chance to strike a deal with Seattle in 2018. Noted as one of the best safeties in the NFL and a notable member of the “Legion of Boom”, Thomas’s season was cut short after suffering a broken leg against Arizona on October 1st.

In a constant feud with Seattle’s management about contract negotiations that led to him sitting out the entire offseason, Thomas now hits the open market with no intentions of returning to his former team. Based on how well his leg heals and if the price isn’t too far-fetched for Kansas City to invest in, the 29-year-old secondary member would be a home run sign for Veach barring any injury issues.

With Eric Berry likely to have surgery on his heel and no true elite 1st stringer on the depth chart at the safety position, this is a deal that if completed would drastically improve the secondary before a game is even played. And if a fully healthy Berry returns to the lineup at maximum strength, look out.

Ronald Darby, 25, cornerback

Rated as the best cornerback in the 2019 free agent market by Pro Football Focus, Ronald Darby is another elite defender that was struck with the injury bug in 2018. Despite tearing his ACL on November 12th against the Dallas Cowboys, Darby has still graded above a 70.0 at the cornerback position in three of his four seasons in the NFL.

With Kendall Fuller and Charvarius Ward returning at the top of the depth chart next season, adding an established corner looking to bounce back may be the likeliest move Veach could make. The secondary was easily the weakest spot for the Chiefs, slotted as the second worst pass defending group in the NFL during the 2018 season. Not to mention Steve Nelson’s contract expired at the end of the season, making him a free agent this offseason.

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If Kansas City chooses to move on from Nelson, their eyes shouldn’t look any further than honing in on the 25-year-old Darby. There is one spot financially that the front office should be flexible with, and if tended to, the consistency of the cornerback crew may just be one of the last pieces of the puzzle for the Chiefs to reach the promised land.

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