Why the Chiefs defense is further along than some might believe

Brett Veach didn’t seem too concerned that the Chiefs defense was running behind despite a near complete overhaul this offseason under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

The Kansas City Chiefs have sent several players packing this offseason.

Steven Nelson is now a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary. Justin Houston will be chasing quarterbacks for the Indianapolis Colts. Dee Ford just received a major investment from the San Francisco 49ers. Eric Murray was dealt to the Cleveland Browns. Eric Berry is still waiting his turn on the open market. Allen Bailey is taking free agent trips to Seattle, Carolina and New England.

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That list also doesn’t include a number of lesser known exits, many of them uninspired, that might cause a fan to shrug, but they were employed last year for a reason. Orlando Scandrick, Frank Zombo, Terrance Smith, Ron Parker, and Step Durham are all free agents. Some played nearly every down. Others played sparingly. But they played. In short, the Chiefs had a lot of work to do to refresh this defense with both quantity and quality.

If that sounds like the majority of an entire defense, it is. On the plus side, it’s a reason to take heart. The defense was horrible last season under Bob Sutton’s leadership, and even he was let go at season’s end—replaced by Steve Spagnuolo as coordinator. From there, general manager went to work on the roster after consulting with Spagnuolo, gutting the roster of players who were deemed poor fits or too expensive (or simply not good enough).

Despite all of the losses, general manager Brett Veach doesn’t seem concerned at all about the state of the team’s defense—even before the 2019 NFL Draft. Veach points to leadership’s familiarity with Spagnuolo before he was even hired as a reason for some of early synergy. He spoke highly of the offseason process in a recent media session.

“There’s some familiarity with coach [Reid] and Spags [Spagnuolo] having worked together before. There is that element of being able to get the process moving sooner, because it’s not like these coaches are foreign and don’t know each other. They have a great working relationship. Some scheme stuff is different, but I think when you begin with a similar philosophy in how you build a program, those similarities help. Like I said, I got a chance to work with Spags for a year in Philly, so we kind of hit the ground running. I think we’re a lot further along than people think and we’re excited about it.”

The Chiefs have been steadily rebuilding their defense for the last few months. Tyrann Mathieu was signed to play Berry’s role in the secondary, a versatile player and vocal leader. Emmanuel Ogbah came in return for Murray to help restock the pass rushing corps. Alex Okafor was signed as a veteran bookend to man Spags’ new 4-3 under front. Bashaud Breeland takes Nelson’s place as an outside corner, and Keith Reaser hopes he’ll stay healthy enough to get another chance. Linebackers Jeremiah Attaochu and Damien Wilson hopes to compete for significant snaps in a remade linebacking group.

The Chiefs also have eight picks in the draft with which to maneuver and get their prized players. It’s impossible to know exactly how many new defenders will be drafted to join the roster, but it’s easy to project at least a few will be joining the newcomers, especially early investments in the first and second rounds.

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At this rate, the front line looks deep before the draft begins. The safety position also looks solid. There are questions in the middle and at cornerback, but there’s still time for Veach to work his magic. He seems keenly aware of this, knowing there’s a long road to still finalizing the Chiefs roster. He doesn’t seem at all concerned, and is instead encouraging the negative among us to think more highly of the job they’re doing inside Arrowhead.

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