How does the Kansas City Chiefs roster compare to 2018?
By Drew Brooks
2018 defensive line (6): Chris Jones, Xavier Williams, Jarvis Jenkins, Justin Hamilton, Allen Bailey, Derrick Nnadi
2019 defensive line (9): Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Emmanuel Ogbah, Alex Okafor, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Derrick Nnadi, Xavier Williams, Khalen Saunders, Joey Ivie
This season, the Chiefs defensive line has a lot of new faces and a lot more depth than it did a year ago. The three returning players to the defensive line are Chris Jones, Xavier Williams, and Derrick Nnadi. It was expected that Breeland Speaks would also return, but due to a knee injury week 2 of preseason, he was placed on injured reserve.
The biggest new face is defensive end Frank Clark. The Chiefs acquired Clark this offseason via trade with the Seattle Seahawks, sending a 2019 first-round, 2019 third-round, and 2020 second-round pick for Frank Clark and a 2019 third-round pick.
Clark is coming off his best season, where he started all 16 games, grabbed 1 interception, and got 13 sacks. If Clark was paired with Chris Jones last year, the two players would have combined for 28.5 sacks. Both players are excellent pass rushers, and have a scary presence on the defensive line.
Another lineman they acquired via trade is Emmanuel Ogbah, who the Chiefs traded safety Eric Murray to the Cleveland Browns for. Ogbah is not a pass rusher like Chris Jones or Frank Clark, but he will make an impact on the defensive line
The Chiefs also added former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Alex Okafor, and signed him to a 3-year deal. Okafor started all 16 games last year with the Saints and notched 4 sacks and 36 tackles. Like Ogbah, Okafor is not a major pass rusher, but his presence will certainly be a help to the defensive line.
The other two new additions to the defensive line are Khalen Saunders and Joey Ivie. Saunders is a 6’0″ 324 pound defensive tackle from Western Illinois whose skills include the ability to do a backflip. The Chiefs selected him in the third-round of this year’s NFL draft. While Saunders likely won’t get a lot of snaps with the current depth of the defensive line, he brings a lot of talent to the line and will be a big contributor down the road.
Joey Ivie is a defensive tackle who the Chiefs signed to the practice squad in place of Dee Liner last year. Ivie was drafted into the league by the Dallas Cowboys in 2017, but was cut before the season began and has never seen the field in a regular season NFL game. The Chiefs kept him on the roster for depth, but they clearly see something else in him.
Let’s check out the rest of the front seven now and look at the linebackers.