Why the Chiefs should reach for Henry Ruggs III (or another elite wide receiver)

The needs of the Kansas City Chiefs defense

Another common retort to this notion is that the Kansas City Chiefs have several needs on the defensive side of the ball. After all, for multiple years the team has struggled to field a great unit of coverage linebackers. Year in and year out, they struggle to cover running backs out of the backfield and it has burned the defense countless times.

The challenge with the Kansas City Chiefs staying put at 32 and drafting a linebacker is that the top two linebacker prospects will likely already be gone at this point. Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons is a consensus top-five pick and Patrick Queen, a player who’s been mocked to the Chiefs a time or two over the last month, could easily go in the late-teens or early 20s. There are a handful of other options at linebacker, but their projected value is more in line with the second or third round.

The other primary need on defense seems to be at the cornerback position. This position group was maligned in the 2019 offseason for its lack of top-end talent and depth. It’s starters were an undrafted second-year player in Charvarius Ward and Bashaud Breeland, a player who once was considered top-end but had struggled with injuries and consistency.

Even with that uncertainty, the Kansas City Chiefs defense surprisingly shined in pass coverage. At the end of the season, according to Pro Football Outsiders DVOA, the Chiefs defense had the sixth best rating in pass coverage in the NFL. The emergence of Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill in coverage and the development of Rashad Fenton were significant factors in that rating. The fact remains this was not a weakness in 2019, as surprising as that ended up being.