3 young Chiefs players who are emerging as defensive stars in 2024

For a Chiefs team that lost some important defenders, it's heartening to see a new wave of playmakers emerging on that side.

It's not easy to replace a L'Jarius Sneed. For any team to lose its top cornerback, especially one with a lengthy history of shutting down an opponent's best pass catcher. Stefon Diggs. Ja'Marr Chase. Justin Jefferson. It doesn't matter how popular or accomplished, Sneed could take care of them all.

The Kansas City Chiefs waved goodbye this offseason to Sneed and other important players from last year's stellar defensive unit—one that carried them to a second consecutive Super Bowl title. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was lauded for his efforts but he can only do so much from the sidelines. Players have to carry forth his orders and execute and Sneed and company did just that.

So how have the Chiefs fared in the wake of some important losses? Sneed was traded. Willie Gay Jr. was allowed to walk. Mike Edwards, too. For a team that'd lost Frank Clark, Juan Thornhill, Khalen Saunders, and Carlos Dunlap the previous year, was this going to be too much attrition for another taxing playoff run?

As it turns out, the Chiefs are in great shape once again with a young, healthy defense capable of winning games and carrying the team. The team's coaching staff and front office should share credit in equal measure for coaching up the next wave of defensive playmakers. Here are three guys who've stepped up big time early in 2024.

Chamarri Conner

This one feels the most "obvious" on a larger scale as Chamarri Conner has come up with huge plays to secure a place for himself on highlight reels for the Chiefs in each of the last two weeks.

One week ago, Conner came up with the scoop-and-score on a fumble by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow—a pivotal point in a close game in Week 2. It was a team effort to frustrate Burrow in the pocket, but Conner capitalized on it and showed a real knack for being around the ball. Call him opportunistic.

Then on Sunday, in another close Week 3 win over the Falcons, Conner, a former fourth-round pick, not only came up with an important interception that halted the momentum of the Falcons, but he also had the presence of mind to hand it off to teammate Jaylen Watson for an additional dozen yards.

Some players seem to have a penchant for those bigger moments and it's hard to boil down exactly what it is about them that draws them in for such big moments. But Conner seems to have real instincts for the ball—how a play will go down and how best to leverage his skill set to be in the right place to make good things happen.

It's our guess that, looking forward, we're going to see this as a consistent theme throughout his career—that Conner will be associated with several more game-changing plays before his time in K.C. is done.

Leo Chenal

Of all of the players on this list, Leo Chenal is the most exciting. That's not intended as a slight to anyone else. It's just that Chenal is proving himself to be a chess piece all his own—as much as Spags loves to talk about such multi-use players, Chenal is a unique one with the ability to handle numerous tasks in the first and second levels.

Everyone knew that Chenal would be a monster defender against the run coming into the league, but the Chiefs had a creative vision for him that went beyond two-down backer at the pro level. He was an absolute menace at the collegiate level who lived in the opponent's backfield thanks to his cinder-block frame, surprising burst, and amazing play strength.

Check out how Chenal handles players 50 pounds heavier as he lines up on the defensive front at the key moment of the Chiefs' win over the Falcons in Week 3—the celebrated Nick Bolton run stop.

The transformation came into full view last postseason. Remember that Chenal already had a sack in his first Super Bowl but last year, he was Pro Football Focus's highest-graded defender for the Chiefs' entire postseason run in '23. In the Super Bowl alone, he had a tackle for loss, a blocked extra point, and a forced fumble. Incredible!

Chenal is effective against the run. He can disrupt the pocket aligned on the defensive front from a number of places. Every week, it seems as if his natural instincts are locking in quicker on what the offense is trying to do, which only frees him up to make a greater impact.

The Chiefs have to figure out how to lock him up for a second contract.

Turk Wharton

The idea of Wharton being a young emerging star might sound a bit off, but stay with us here. At the very least, we need to acknowledge that Wharton is playing on another level in 2024.

Yes, Wharton is beyond his initial rookie contract, but two things are important to remember about those first few years: First, he came into the league as a raw product facing a major learning curve, and second, he lost his momentum with a devastating injury at a pivotal moment.

For the sake of review, Wharton's arrival with the Chiefs was one of the most heartening stories of the 2020 campaign as a longshot of a prospect out of Missouri S&T. Despite jaw-dropping stats at the D2 level (58 tackles for loss and 35 sacks in his record-setting career), NFL teams left him out in the cold during NFL Draft weekend—the same that D1 schools did to him coming out of high school in St. Louis.

Once again, Wharton would prove everyone else wrong once extended an invitation to try out for the Chiefs. Not only did he earn a contract but he would make the active roster and became an instant contributor up front for the next four seasons. But that growth would be halted by an unfortunate injury, a torn ACL just a few weeks into his third NFL season. Just like that, he was not only out but he would be limited coming into his contract year.

Back to this year. The Chiefs re-signed Wharton to a one-year deal in free agency, but the news landed with little effect—just another low-level returnee as the Chiefs bring the band back together. What fans didn't realize then was that Wharton was primed for a breakout campaign—a late bloomer given the early hurdles he faced. Here, in his fifth NFL season, things are suddenly clicking for Wharton.

This summer, Wharton's positional coach said he was having a "dominating" training camp, which should have tipped the hand about the year to come. Through three weeks, Wharton is getting after opposing quarterbacks more than ever, and the Chiefs are rewarding him with plenty of playing time. He might be a late bloomer, but Wharton is helping the Chiefs move past last year's departures toward another Super Bowl run.