Five Chiefs defensive upgrades not seen by the Bills
By Matt Conner
Melvin Ingram
The Chiefs weren’t going to add Melvin Ingram for quite some time after they played the Buffalo Bills the first time around, but oh what a change it has made for the defense.
The Chiefs originally chased the idea of adding Ingram back in free agency when a visit failed to lead to an agreed-upon deal. From there, rumors had the Chiefs still interested in signing Ingram when heading into training camp, but the Pittsburgh Steelers came calling first. The Chiefs re-signed Alex Okafor the next day and that was that—until the trading deadline early November.
From the moment the Chiefs installed Ingram as part of the primary pass rush opposite Frank Clark, the defense began to come together even more. Chris Jones moved inside permanently instead of playing outside much of the time. Ingram’s experience and intensity also became an important fire lit next to his teammates. The Chiefs’ front line as a whole began playing much better—getting after opposing quarterbacks on a more consistent basis.
Ingram’s addition up front means that the likes of Mike Danna can come in as fresh rotational players who are also very capable of disrupting the rhythms of Josh Allen.