Brandon Marshall, Mason Foster among linebackers who could help Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs much-maligned run defense needs a boost for the playoff run. Here’s a look at linebackers who could help them along.
After being pummeled in the run game by the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, the Kansas City Chiefs now have the 30th ranked run defense in the NFL based on yards per game allowed (155.8). The team is actually worse when looking at yards per rushing attempt, ranking second to last in the league with 5.3 yards/carry allowed.
The linebackers on the roster are simply not adjusting to the new system put in by first year defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Specifically, a couple of major concerns exist. Anthony Hitchens looks like one of the biggest free agent misses in recent Kansas City history. All through last year, the media seemed content with giving Hitchens a pass for a subpar season, arguing that he was simply playing out of position in the 3-4. When Spags was hired, it was expected that Hitchens would return to the form he showed as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. That has not happened.
The second issue is that while Darron Lee has been very good in pass coverage, he is poor against the run. The best run-stuffing linebacker on the roster should be Reggie Ragland, but he has seen the field in only three games, and averaged only 5% of the snaps in those three contests. Damien Wilson has looked good at times, but even he admits the linebackers have to be better.
Against the Colts, the sieve-like defense sustained major blows as well, with Xavier Williams now being moved to IR, and Chris Jones reportedly out for multiple weeks. From there, it was clear to all that the Chiefs need to do something to improve the run defense moving forward. At the very least, this defensive effort will not pay off in January when it counts the most.
Kansas City began to address their porous run defense on Tuesday with the signing of veteran defensive tackle Terrell McClain. Yet if the team truly wants to ensure they are championship contenders throughout the season, adding one journeyman defensive lineman to a thin and talent-deprived front seven will not be enough. The team must also look to add players to the linebacking corps that can hold up against the run.
So let’s take a look at free agent linebackers the Chiefs could look at in order to help shore up the rushing game. The team may ultimately choose to make a trade here, but here we’re just going to focus on free agents available that could help the team.