Derrick Nnadi’s rookie season shows bright future for Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs 2018 third-round pick Derrick Nnadi impressed everyone in his rookie season. What did he show and what can we expect in 2019?

The Kansas City Chiefs selected defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi out of Florida State in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft. Following the departure of defensive tackle Bennie Logan after his one year deal in 2017, Kansas City needed someone to anchor down the middle of the defensive line against the run. Despite a poor season by the defense once again, especially against the run, Nnadi was one of the few bright spots in that area.

The Chiefs signed Xavier Williams last offseason to help, but given Nnadi’s ability to take advantage of his opportunities and show that he could be a force in the middle at the NFL level early on, that starting job quickly became his. By Week 4, Nnadi was the starter to play as the nose tackle for the Chiefs.

Everyone wants to see instant success by their draft picks in year one which is asking a lot even for top draft picks. Especially for offensive and defensive linemen, the transition to the NFL is very difficult given that they don’t face NFL competition throughout college except for a couple of games a season. Usually, in college, they can win with pure strength over their opponents that doesn’t always translate to the NFL well, especially if they cannot improve their technique early on.

The fact that Nnadi earned a starting role early on in his rookie season as a third-round draft selection and was able to carry over that power and develop technique at the NFL is very impressive. That’s not to say that he didn’t have struggles in his rookie season. The exciting part is that many of those struggles didn’t last long as he developed throughout the course of the season. So what exactly do the Chiefs have in Derrick Nnadi?