The Kansas City Chiefs have as many questions and unknowns going into the season as they have had in any year since 2022, maybe even 2018. Their future Hall of Fame quarterback is coming off the first major injury of his career, the offensive coaching staff had more turnover than in any other year since Andy Reid was hired, and who knows how good the wide receivers and defensive line will look? Those aren’t even all that I could think of in 30 seconds…
Although the previously mentioned concerns might be the most important for the 2026 Chiefs, they aren’t the only ones. Yes, the offense will get the majority of the attention for a variety of reasons, but the defense has a lot of areas of concern on its own. The secondary was completely revamped (Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook, and Jaylen Watson are all on new teams), and the front office invested serious capital in the defensive line (Peter Woods and R. Mason Thomas via the top 40 of the draft and Khyiris Tonga in free agency).
One position group that has flown under the radar in Chiefs Kingdom has been the linebackers. The unit is still led by veterans Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill, but the team lost Leo Chenal to Washington last March.
After losing Chenal, Kansas City did not make any significant free-agent signings or spend any draft capital at the position. The team did sign rookie undrafted free agent Wesley Bissainthe out of Miami (FL). Bissainthe was the only addition the team made to replace Chenal.
Why linebacker remains a concern
Despite the lack of movement, many Chiefs fans did not leave the 2025 season confident in the linebacker group. Nick Bolton has athletic limitations, while Drue Tranquill did not have his best season. The defense was vulnerable against scrambling quarterbacks and short passes in the flat. Part of that was because the Chiefs lacked speed at the second level of the defense, and that’s been an issue for a couple of years, especially since Willie Gay was not retained after the 2023 season.
The burning question with the linebacker corps is whether they will regain the speed they’ve lacked for a little while now. Given the turnover in the secondary and several new pieces along the defensive line, there will be a bigger spotlight on a linebacker group that’s experienced and very similar to last year’s (though not completely unchanged).
Could the Chiefs already have the answers?
Despite the lack of additions, there is hope that speed won’t be as large of a flaw as it was in 2024 and 2025. First, Jeffrey Bassa will be entering his second season, and as a converted safety, he’s more comfortable in coverage than the average second-year linebacker. On the other hand, as Lyle Graversen pointed out, Bassa might not be a one-for-one replacement for Chenal at the SAM linebacker spot, so will Bassa even play a serious role on this team in 2026?
In addition, even though I didn’t mention him earlier, could we be sleeping on rookie edge rusher R. Mason Thomas as a potential part-time off-ball linebacker? Thomas is not built like a typical Steve Spagnuolo defensive end or edge rusher. Many Chiefs analysts were surprised by the selection of Thomas at 40th overall, given that he’s a speed-first rusher and is a little undersized for what Spags has typically preferred.
Is it possible that Thomas splits his time between defensive end and off-ball linebacker? If so, that would help the Chiefs’ speed problem at the second level, as he was one of the more explosive pass rushers in the 2026 draft class. He’s not quite built to be a full-time linebacker, but a hybrid role could be in his future with this defense.
Let’s remember that Bolton, Tranquill, Bassa, and even Thomas are not the only players involved here. Kam Arnold, Wesley Bissainthe, Cole Christiansen, Cooper McDonald, and (trigger warning) Jack Cochrane are also on the team. Will any of these other five players make a positive impact on defense? Probably not, but players have come out of nowhere before to help this team win games.
In the end, these questions will not be answered until the real games begin. We can speculate and judge training camp practices as best we can, but we won’t have answers until the NFL regular season formally kicks off. If the Chiefs have solved their issue with linebacker speed, then we know Kansas City can trust at least one level of the defense in 2026.
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