Melvin Ingram trade changes a few things for KC Chiefs
By Matt Conner
Alex Okafor’s usage
Ingram reportedly wanted out of Pittsburgh because he wasn’t receiving enough playing time. The three-time Pro Bowler had only started a single game out of six contests played for the Steelers with declining snaps over time to the scant 17 snaps played in his final contest in Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Given that the Chiefs gave up some draft capital to get him, you can expect the Chiefs to want to get him on the field more often than not and it makes sense to make him the starter opposite Frank Clark in the team’s starting base along with Derrick Nnadi and Chris Jones inside.
That means Mike Danna is the primary backup on the edges and should still receive as many reps as possible while it makes sense to reward him for being one of the only contributors who’ve made an impact all season here. Jarran Reed, Turk Wharton, and Khalen Saunders become primary backups, which sounds impressive on paper and it leaves very little room for the likes of Alex Okafor and Josh Kaindoh.
Leaving Kaindoh out of the mix might not help his development much this year, but our expectations were minimal for him coming into this season. As for Okafor, he has provided replacement-level reps after re-signing with the Chiefs this summer which means a move to Ingram should be a definite upgrade.