Juan Thornhill is a key building block on the Chiefs defense

What can we expect from Juan Thornhill in 2020?

Juan Thornhill’s rookie season was cut short after tearing his ACL in Week 17 against the L.A. Chargers. Luckily, all indications have been that he will be ready for training camp. It’s hard to predict how he will return from such a significant injury, especially one that happened at the end of the season.

One thing that we do know is that Thornhill is already one of the key building blocks on Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. Without Thornhill throughout the playoffs, the Chiefs used more two safety sets and rolling coverages post-snap.

If he can get back to form by the start of the season, Thornhill could be in for a massive second year. Kansas City will need Thornhill healthy if they want to return to fully opening up the versatility and potential of the defense.

Even with a poor defensive start to the season, the Chiefs ranked sixth in passing defense DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if Thornhill becomes more of a moving piece throughout the defense or remain at free safety in 2020.