We reached out to Seahawks expert Lee Vowell to tell us more about what to expect from Carlos Dunlap this year with the Chiefs.
On Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs finally found the right fit to bolster an edge position starved for any sort of addition with the signing of former Seattle Seahawks pass rusher Carlos Dunlap.
Dunlap has spent the last two seasons in Seattle after a decade with the Cincinnati Bengals. Yet even as he nears his mid-thirties, Dunlap has remained a productive defensive end, a player who can still bring down a quarterback and whose intelligence allows him to remain disruptive against much younger opposing linemen.
So what should Chiefs Kingdom expect from Dunlap next season with the Chiefs? We reached out to our friend Lee Vowell, a Seahawks expert and editor of 12th Man Rising, to answer a few questions about Dunlap’s recent history and projected future.
How would you describe Dunlap’s play for Seattle last season?
Dunlap’s play for the Seahawks was ridiculously inconsistent but I don’t completely blame him. Seattle’s defensive coordinator was the since-fired Ken Norton, Jr. who had the bright idea of dropping defensive linemen into coverage more last year than in previous seasons. The issue with Dunlap is he is basically a pure defensive end and Norton was playing him more as a linebacker.
Dunlap had five games, due to his ineffectiveness of what Norton was trying to do, where he didn’t eclipse 30 percent of defensive snaps for the game. Finally, by the end of the season, Dunlap was playing more in his natural spot and had 8 sacks in his last six games.
He wasn’t great over the course of the year because he was so ill-used in Seattle’s scheme but he showed he still had the ability to be good on the edge.
Did the Seahawks want him back for another season?
I don’t think so. Actually, Seattle released Dunlap after the 2020 season as well and let Dunlap test the free agent market. He didn’t seem to find any teams that wanted to pay him much, however, and he ended up back with Seattle for the 2021 season. I think had Dunlap not found a team close to this season he might have ended up back in Seattle again but not at a very high salary.
The shame is that Dunlap would likely have been a much better fit for the Seahawks this season under new DC Clint Hurtt. But Seattle seems to have made a concerted effort to be really young with their edge rush group.
Any pass rusher hitting his mid-thirties is going to face questions about how much is left in the tank. What would be your best guess here for potential production in 2022?
I still think Dunlap can get to 8 sacks. He proved late last year he still can be productive. Plus, the most underrated part of Dunlap’s game is his intelligence. When he can’t get to a quarterback, he knows it and is incredibly adept at batting passes down at the line of scrimmage. Dunlap should be a good fit for K.C. He will be a strong part of the rotation.