The Kansas City Chiefs are undoubtedly going to go shopping in every aisle this offseason in which there are defensive linemen and pass rushers to choose from. That makes any new addition into the free-agent market worth looking at—even for a minute—and the latest player released comes from the Atlanta Falcons in the form of Dante Fowler.
Fowler enters the market best known for his early draft selection by the Jacksonville jaguars as a top-three pick back in the 2015 NFL Draft out of the University of Florida. Unfortunately for the player and team, Fowler never turned into a franchise cornerstone as a pass rusher, although he certainly showed flashes as a rotational player and he was ultimately shipped to the Los Angeles Rams before his rookie contract was up.
That lack of production goes back to a devastating ACL injury that robbed Fowler of his entire freshman season in the league. Fowler was able to put up 8 sacks in his third NFL season but it wasn’t enough for the Jags to want to keep him around or even exercise his fifth-year option. In the end, they flipped him for third-round and fifth-round picks from L.A.
Pass rusher Dante Fowler is now a part of the free-agent pass rushing market after the Atlanta Falcons officially released him.
With the Rams, Fowler showed enough in a half-season to merit a single season extension and it was in that year (2019) that Fowler turned heads across the league. Fowler had 11.5 sacks playing in the same defense as Aaron Donald and company and turned that contract year into a big payday with the Atlanta Falcons only two years ago—those same Falcons who just set him free.
Fowler had a total of 7.5 sacks across 28 total games with the Falcons in 2020 and 2021 and is now a free agent once again.
It can be easy to look at the last couple of years and write off Fowler, but the truth falls somewhere in the middle when asking about what he would bring to a new team like the Kansas City Chiefs. If you’ve not been paying attention, the Falcons front seven has been a total mess for some time and the pass rush has been non-existent for years now—a miserable stretch that has crossed over coaching regimes. Fowler was the latest attempt to plug the leak and somehow it did not work.
While no one should bring in Fowler at this point as a cornerstone end expecting him to ever live up to the billing of being the third overall pick in a draft class, he also shouldn’t be written off as a bust. Fowler has displayed 8-10 sack potential or better with a solid rotational role with others who can demand attention from the opposition. And that’s exactly what the Chiefs could use.
No matter what happens with Frank Clark, the Chiefs will continue to employ Chris Jones up front as the cornerstone of the line. From there, the team is looking to remake the edge role around him with potential re-signings like Melvin Ingram to go with holdovers like Mike Danna. Adding a Fowler sort of player would electrify the line with a speedy pass rusher who could serve as a reliably disruptive force in tandem with others.
For those concerned with the early-career injury, Fowler has long since proven he can stay healthy as he’s played the vast majority of games, if not all of them, in every season since then.
If Fowler can settle into a practical price point on the open market and wants to join a line for a Super Bowl contender working alongside a player who will do the heavy lifting in the middle, Fowler could be a nice addition for the Chiefs as a rotational player to bring in before free agency begins and any draft picks are made—giving them security heading into a long offseason with many questions.