The Kansas City Chiefs' defense will certainly look a lot different come Week 1 of the 2026 season, as Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo have lost a plethora of high-profile players in recent weeks.
The first domino fell when Kansas City traded Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams, who quickly signed him to a four-year, $124 million extension, thus making the two-time All-Pro the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
And once free agency began, cornerback Jaylen Watson followed McDuffie to LaLa Land, signing a three-year, $51 million contract with the Rams. Kansas City also lost safety Bryan Cook, who returned to his hometown to sign a three-year, $40.25 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Losing these three members of the esteemed 2022 draft class will obviously hurt, but there's another departure from that same class that didn't get nearly as much attention, one that will undoubtedly hurt more than some may realize. And that departure, of course, is linebacker Leo Chenal.
The Chiefs will undoubtedly miss Leo Chenal's versatility
Taken in the third round of the 2022 draft at No. 103 overall, Chenal started a total of 49 games for the Chiefs between the regular season and postseason over the past four years.
And while he's had plenty of great performances, one could easily argue that his best came in Super Bowl 58, where the Wisconsin alum tallied six total tackles, a tackle for loss, a QB hit, a forced fumble, and a crucial blocked extra point in Kansas City's 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Truth be told, he had a strong case for Most Valuable Player honors that night.
Simply put, Chenal has been one of the most consistent linebackers in the league over the past four years. He may not have the gaudy numbers that others do, but his simple stat line is still solid, as he's racked up 218 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 16 QB hits, 7.0 sacks, six passes defended, three forced fumbles, and an interception. And that's only during the regular season, as he also put up solid numbers during the postseason outside of just that heroic performance against the Niners with the Lombardi on the line.
After earning a 66.0 overall PFF grade as a rookie, Chenal hasn't fallen below the 75 mark in each year since, ranking 19th in the league in 2023 at 76.5, fifth in 2024 at 83.5, and 18th this past season at 75.1.
And we haven't mentioned his versatility yet. In addition to playing both off-ball linebacker positions, Chenal has lined up at defensive tackle, defensive end, and slot cornerback. He's even taken the field with the offense at fullback. He's a coach's dream, and Dan Quinn is lucky to have him, as Chenal signed a three-year, $24.75 million deal with the Washington Commanders, which is an absolute bargain.
McDuffie, Watson, and Cook will be missed, but watching Chenal fly all over the field attempting to make plays will certainly be missed as well.