Tyrann Mathieu could be on track to win the Defensive Player of the Year award

After helping lead the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense in a Super Bowl winning performance in the 2019, Tyrann Mathieu could be looking to build on that success in 2020.

During the 2019 season, Tyrann Mathieu transcended to a whole different level of performance. His leadership, along with his admirable personality and strong on field performances helped elevate him past not only his past mediocre seasons, but also his Honey Badger persona. Had it not been for a slow start to the season, Tyrann Mathieu would have earned a spot in the conversation around the defensive player of the year award.

Tyrann Mathieu ended the 2019 regular season with 4 interceptions, 12 pass breakups, 75 tackles, and 2 sacks. This only two less interceptions then the interception leaders (Stephon Gilmore, Anthony Harris, Tre’Davious White) and 8 pass breakups less then the pass breakup leader (Stephon Gilmore).

This is despite this being only his first year with the Chiefs, who were seeing their first season under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnoulo, and their first season after moving on from the two fan-favorite players that had been the face of the defense in years prior, Eric Berry and Justin Houston. It obviously took the defense a few weeks to find it’s footing, and especially the new star players a few more to become secure in their roles.

Towards the end of the season, once Steve Spagnoulo and the players became comfortable in the system, the Chiefs’ defense was unstoppable, and it was largely thanks to Tyrann Mathiue’s versatility and skill. His ability to move to any position on the field, whether it be safety, slot corner, outside corner, even linebacker opened up the defense’s options. Whether it be pre-snap with a ton of movement and shifts that threw off quarterbacks’ ability to read, or during the play, where the intense and confusing blitz packages that are central to a Spagnoulo defense disrupted offensive backfields, Mathieu’s ability to play every role on the defense was central.

Over the last seven weeks, Tyrann Mathieu and the Chiefs’ defense was elite: ranked first in points per game allowed, first in interceptions, first in interceptions to touchdown ratio, first in opposing quarterback rating. Although playing much better teams in the playoffs, the Chiefs’ defense stayed elite, holding the Houston Texans to only one touchdown through the final three quarters, keeping the run centric Tennessee Titans to only 85 yards, and being the base that made the Super Bowl comeback possible.

In 2020, the Chiefs’ defense will be starting off with the chemistry that they ended the 2019 season with, along with a few great players to help fill the holes that the defense had. Willie Gay Jr. and surprising camp standout Ben Niemann will be able to fill the Chiefs’ need at linebacker, Spags had the whole offseason to build and fine-tune his playbook to the year’s worth of statistics 2019 gave him, and Tyrann Mathieu had seven months to study, regroup, and prepare to put in work.

In 2020, the Chiefs’ defense will also have the opportunity to prey on the Deandre Hopkins-less Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers twice, early rebuild New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders twice, Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen’s lack of accuracy, New York Jets and the kid from The Sixth Sense playing quarterback, and the injury prone Atlanta Falcons. With this slate of weak offenses to prey on, the Chiefs’ defense is likely to rank near the top of league defenses for most of the season, and with Tyrann Mathieu leading the show, he is likely to see that success manifest tangibly on the stat sheet (Like Stephon Gilmore in 2019, who got to play 5 of10 of the worst offenses of the 2019 season).

With his large and enticing personality that media outlets tend to latch onto, his momentum leading into a promising offseason, and a slate of weak offenses to stuff the stat sheet with, Tyrann Mathieu’s 2020 season could very well put him in position to win the DPOY award and move him into the conversation for most elite defensive players in the league.