Sammy Watkins, Le’Veon Bell among Chiefs with most to gain (or lose) in stretch run
By Matt Conner
Tanoh Kpassagnon
They say the contract year is undefeated, but Tanoh Kpassagnon’s final season (as scheduled, at least) with the Chiefs has not gone as expected—at least for those of us who believed we might see a true leap forward take place with a potential major payday in his sights.
On paper, Kpassagnon had a lot going for him coming into this year. He was drafted as high as the second round between Patrick Mahomes and Kareem Hunt in the Chiefs draft class of 2017. He was always known to be a project of an end who was a raw player also making the leap from Villanova to the pro level. His blend of length, athleticism, and strength is the sort of rare combination that scouts drool over—using words like upside, projectable, etc.
This fourth season, then, was supposed to be the breakout year. Given that Alex Okafor hasn’t even stood in the way of any starter’s reps given his list of injuries, Kpassagnon was basically gifted a chance to showcase what he could do in the limelight. He had multiple primetime games in which he would be able to get after the passer as defenses keyed in on teammates like Chris Jones and Frank Clark along the line.
Somehow, despite making 10 starts for the Chiefs, Kpassagnon has a single sack to his name. He also has only 1 hurry and 2 quarterback knockdowns to his credit in 78 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. Last year, Kpassagnon had 4 sacks in rotational snaps but he added another 2 sacks in 3 postseason games, which made Chiefs fans excited for the long-awaited breakthrough.
If Kpassagnon wants any team to bite on the potential that could still be there, there’s no better time than the present to show it.