What the scouting reports said about Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon
By Matt Conner
Tanoh Kpassagnon is turning heads early on in training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs which has us wondering what the scouts said early on.
The Kansas City Chiefs are well into training camp these days, which means some key storylines have begun to emerge for this year’s 90-man roster. From the arrival of Chris Jones on time to the joys of having Tyreek Hill for all of camp, it’s easy to see the bigger plots but some key smaller surprises have also come forth in the form of player leaps like Tanoh Kpassagnon.
Kpassagnon was a second investment in the 2017 NFL Draft, between Patrick Mahomes and Kareem Hunt in the Chiefs draft class. John Dorsey loved his pass rushing potential, as did so many others, but knew he was a developmental prospect and admitted as much.
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Unfortunately for Kpassagnon, he’s struggled to make an impact on the field in the NFL—at least under former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton. In 32 total games, he’s made a single start and registered a total of 2 sacks, both during his rookie campaign. Last year, there was zero impact felt.
This year, however, he’s turning heads and reminding us that scouts once raved about his potential. Dorsey invested a second round pick for good reason, and the former Chiefs GM rarely misses with his earliest picks. It’s important to remember that developmental players sometimes need more time than fans would like, and just last year Dee Ford was in the conversation for best defensive player in the NFL after taking a significant leap forward.
Let’s take a look back at what draft analysts said about Kpassagnon an in attempt to remind ourselves what he could still become.
From Dorsey himself, it’s important to remember that his player comparison for Kpass was Jones, the longtime pass rusher for the Raiders, Oilers and Packers. Jones put up an incredible career total of 113 sacks and was a two-time All-Pro. He was never appreciated as much as his career numbers would suggest, but don’t be fooled—he was one of the league’s most consistent pass rushers in the ’80s and ’90s.
In 2017, Pete Thamel wrote this for Sports Illustrated: “Think a bigger version of Bengals pass rush specialist Carlos Dunlap minus the off-field character concerns.”
Dunlap has been the same sort of under-appreciated yet steady pass rusher as Jones in the NFL, with 72.5 career sacks in 9 NFL seasons—all with the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s only had a single season in double-digits, but he’s been a feared anchor along the defensive front in Cincy since his arrival. Dunlap also has 18 career forced fumbles.
On the downside, Charlie Campbell at Walter Football compared Kpassagnon to Devin Taylor, a fourth round pick of the Detroit Lions back in 2013 who is now out of the NFL. Taylor is long and built similarly to Kpassagnon, but clearly he wasn’t able to translate his physical status to pass rushing success. Taylor did finish his full rookie contract with the Lions and had 15 career sacks in those four years.
The general AP report when the Chiefs drafted KP brought up Jason Pierre-Paul as the common player comparison on draft day and quoted Todd McShay who said:
"“You see the big hands, strong hands, the ability to control blockers, he’s got a powerful punch. He’s just raw. He needs good coaching and he needs to be developed. I think he can be an impact starter one day in the league. I think early on, he’s going to be used as a situational player.”"
Pierre-Paul, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has 71 career sacks and remains a pass rushing force despite some scary injuries over the years.
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Some of the player comparisons are more exciting than others, but it goes to show that most scouts took a long look at Kpassagnon just two years ago and loved what they saw. The combination of size, speed and strength brought about comps to some of the NFL’s better pass rushers. If he can put it all together, perhaps he can be a comp for someone else someday—in a good way.