Arrowhead Addict
FanSided

Kenneth Murray would be a great fit for the Kansas City Chiefs defense

By Travis Steffen

DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 12: Kenneth Murray #9 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the 2019 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 12, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 12: Kenneth Murray #9 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the 2019 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 12, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray
Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

The second level of the Kansas City Chiefs defense remains as one of their top needs this offseason. Kenneth Murray would be a great addition.

Despite significant improvement down the stretch in 2019 from the Kansas City Chiefs defense, the second level of the defense is still in need of help.

In his first season as defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo transformed this defense to one of the better units against the pass in 2019. Most of that success came from the change in coaching staff implementing a new scheme. At the same time, another major contributor would be the new safety duo, including Tyrann Mathieu and rookie Juan Thornhill.

The linebackers deserve some credit as well, as the unit improved as the season went along with the rest of the defense. Signing Damien Wilson last offseason proved to be beneficial, but he still leaves room for improvement. Anthony Hitchens had another up-and-down season struggling to live up to his hefty contract for the production he produces. That left a revolving door for Reggie Ragland and Ben Niemann.

Ragland had some impressive showings, but he was never going to be more than a downhill thumper. Niemann has exceeded expectations as an undrafted free agent, but he still has his struggles that leave the middle of the Chiefs defense vulnerable. Kansas City tried to bring in a WILL linebacker by trading for Darron Lee, but his snap counts disappear fairly quickly. As another season goes by with Dorian O’Daniel struggling to see the field, it begs the question as to whether or not he will ever become more than a special teams contributor.

The Chiefs have yet to find a WILL linebacker for Spagnuolo’s system—a linebacker that can be relied on all three downs who has the range and coverage ability to plug up the middle of the field against the run and pass. Spagnuolo tried to mask this weakness by having safeties cover tight ends and running backs out of the backfield down the stretch.

While this philosophy helped, to some extent, it also took playmakers like Mathieu away from chances to play the ballhawk. There are a few names in the 2020 NFL Draft class that could help solve the issue that lies in the middle of the defense—one of those being Oklahoma Sooners linebacker, Kenneth Murray.

Home/Kansas City Chiefs Draft