KC Chiefs: Under-the-radar impact players emerge in 2020 postseason

Juan Thornhill

Juan Thornhill isn’t exactly what you’d call an under-the-radar player, in the traditional sense. The second round draft pick out of the University of Virginia was one of the breakout stars on defense last season, solidifying the back end of a defense that had been missing that factor for quite some time.

Unfortunately, Thornhill suffered a season-ending ACL injury against the Los Angeles Chargers in the final game of the season. While players often return within a calendar year from this injury, it can take a couple seasons before they are back to their prior level of performance.

Unsurprisingly, Thornhill struggled this season. Athletically alien in the past, Thornhill’s movement throughout most of the season appeared much more human. He was a shell of himself and his Pro Football Focus grade of 52.8 reflected that.

Expectations for Thornhill this season were tempered, given he was returning from such a major injury. It’s not as though Chiefs coaches or fans were holding his performance against him. The question remained though, when would we see Thornhill return to his near-Pro Bowl form of 2019.

That question may be in the process of its answer, as Thornhill had an excellent performance against a juggernaut of an offense in the Buffalo Bills. Thornhill ended the game as the Chiefs’ highest graded defensive player, per PFF, and achieved the second-highest grade of his career.

Thornhill makes this list because his performance flew somewhat under-the-radar in the face of an incredibly dominant offensive performance. The truth is, if he can keep his production at this level it will be a massive boost for a defense entering its second straight Super Bowl against another big-time offense.