Zack Baun is an ideal draft fit for the Kansas City Chiefs

How Zack Baun fits in Kansas City’s defense

When Steve Spagnuolo first came to Kansas City, fans knew that he was known for his aggressiveness and disguising coverages. Having versatile players that can play multiple positions and roles are required to be able to call these plays. In 2019, strong safety Tyrann Mathieu and cornerback Kendall Fuller were great examples.

Mathieu played inside the box, on the edge, nickel corner, and deep safety. Fuller’s role became more and more that of safety when he returned from injury. Never knowing where those two were lining up and where they were dropping post-snap gave Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense a significant advantage.

Zack Baun would be an excellent weapon to give Spagnuolo at the linebacker position. The ability to rush him from multiple alignments and drop him into coverage, yet rely on him against the run all make him an excellent chess piece. In 2019, second-year linebacker Ben Niemann saw considerable time on obvious passing downs. While he’s exceeded the expectations of his undrafted free agent signing, Baun would be an upgrade not only against the run but against the pass as well.

Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson are both solid linebackers but are limited when dropping into coverage. Both veterans struggle to key the play quick enough and lack the athletic ability to play sideline to sideline. With some development, Baun could prove to be the three-down linebacker that Kansas City needs. Given the weaknesses of the second level currently, teams exploited the defense with running backs coming out of the backfield.

Spagnuolo tried multiple packages and personnel to help slow down the bleed, but it remained a struggle. Safety Daniel Sorensen proved solid at the role, but at times it took Tyrann Mathieu out of a coverage role. Baun will bring versatility to allow Spagnuolo to be more creative in 2020 while also filling a weakness.