KC Chiefs: The three most important preseason developments

The Chiefs Defense Looks Great

Over the past three seasons while Kansas City’s Super Bowl window has been open, they have been viewed as a team with an elite offense and a defense that’s “good enough”. So what happens if the Chiefs are able to remove the word “enough” from that sentence? How scared should the rest of the NFL be if the Chiefs match their high powered offense with a defense that is just flat out good?

If what we’ve seen so far in the preseason can be believed, we may just find out the answer to that question.

While the good play of the overhauled offensive line will likely get more press because of high-profile additions to that group, the outstanding play by the first string defense is every bit as exciting of a development. Again, the Chiefs defense hasn’t been bad these past couple of seasons, but they have definitely been living in the offense’s shadow. That hasn’t been the case this preseason. In fact, I would argue that the first string defense has clearly outperformed the first string offense.

I’m not predicting that the Chiefs are about to become known as a defensive team. I fully expect Patrick Mahomes and company to continue grabbing headlines once the regular season starts. But if the defense can take another step forward, it makes the Chiefs an absolute monster to face for opposing teams.

On Friday, Kyler Murray and the Cardinals first string offense couldn’t get anything going against the Chiefs. The week before that, the 49ers first string offense couldn’t do much either. The Chiefs defensive starters have been strong against the run and good in coverage. They have generated pressure on the quarterback and gotten off the field on third downs. They’ve also not allowed many points. You simply don’t get better than that. Again, this is just preseason and we shouldn’t overreact, but the signs are all positive.

The two biggest developments are the tremendous quality and depth of the interior defensive line and the good coverage skills shown by the cornerbacks. The combination of Chris Jones, Jarran Reed, Derrick Nnadi, Tershawn Wharton, and Khalen Saunders on the interior has been flat out dominant. Yes, Jones has played outside a lot too, but he’s still been great on the interior when they kick him inside. The fact that the other four guys playing inside are doing a great job there too, just makes it easier to play Jones on the edge when needed.  This group looks poised to be one of the most dominant interiors in all the NFL this season, and is a huge part of why I’m feeling optimistic about K.C.’s defense as a whole.

The coverage by the corners has also been an encouraging development. I think most of us felt good about returning L’Jarius Sneed, Charvarius Ward, and Rashad Fenton, but questions remained about replacing Breshaud Breeland. Thankfully, both Mike Hughes and Deandre Baker have looked like guys who can be counted on to contribute. Hughes in particular has looked like a great addition by GM Brett Veach. I’ll also note that L’Jarius Sneed has looked every bit the star in the making that he did as a rookie last season.

The Chiefs look to have a reliable group of five corners who can all contribute and the oldest one of the group is Ward at just 25 years old. The safeties have looked good too, led by Tyrann Mathieu with Juan Thornhill looking like he’s getting back to form and Daniel Sorensen still in the mix.

My only real question with the first string defense is if they can get enough pressure off the edge. The interior pressure has been great and a few blitzes have gotten home, but the edge rush is still a question mark. I don’t believe Frank Clark has played at all in the preseason. Taco Charlton and Alex Okafor haven’t played much and haven’t flashed when they did and Jones has applied most of his pressure when kicking inside on passing downs. The only outside rusher that has flashed is Tim Ward and it has come against second stringers.

If the Chiefs can get great interior pressure and Steve Spagnuolo can be effective sending blitzes, the Chiefs may be able to survive without much pressure from their edge rushers, but it sure would be nice to get some production from that spot, since that is the spot where that is considered the most valuable part of the job. I’m still feeling great about the first string defense overall, but that’s the one spot where I still have questions.

So there you have it Chiefs fans. Those are my three biggest developments of the preseason. Are you worried about the wide receivers at all? Do you agree that the offensive line and first string defense are looking good? Are there any developments that you feel like I’m overlooking? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.