When the Kansas City Chiefs signed free agent linebacker Drue Tranquill over the offseason, it was in an obvious effort to improve the coverage ability of that position group. For the longest time, the Chiefs' defense had struggled to cover running backs out of the backfield and tight ends over the middle of the field. However, the addition of Drue Tranquill has played a massive part in what has been a breakout year for the Chiefs' defense.
Tranquill has been Kansas City's best coverage linebacker this year and his athleticism has raised the ceiling of Kansas City's defense because of his ability to scrape down the line and make tackles. Tranquill can turn and run with skill position players consistently which is an element that Kansas City simply didn't have with its other linebackers.
Most would agree that Tranquill was one of the best value free agent signings that Kansas City made this offseason when he signed a 1-year, $3 million contract with the team. He was the Los Angeles Chargers' leading tackler just a year ago and now he's playing in a Super Bowl on a Chiefs defense that has carried them to this point. With that said, his value is at an all-time high heading into Super Bowl LVIII versus the San Francisco 49ers.
That makes this Super Bowl matchup and more specifically, the matchup against Christian McCaffrey, tailor-made for Drue Tranquill.
While the Chiefs have one of the best defenses in the NFL, the 49ers have one of the best offenses in the NFL. San Francisco is loaded at the skill positions but one player probably scares you more than any other and that's of course, running back Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey had his own case to be the league's MVP this year as he racked up over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns. He is the engine to the Kyle Shanahan offense that loves to run outside zone.
A lot of people criticized the capital that San Francisco gave up for McCaffrey when they traded for him from the Carolina Panthers, but it has been a match made in heaven for the two sides because the offense is catered to running backs and McCaffrey is able to run wild because of the other weapons San Francisco has that defenses must pay attention to.
What makes McCaffrey so much more dangerous than other 49ers running backs from the past, though, is his receiving ability out of the backfield and his ability to make plays out in space. We already know that the run defense has been Kansas City's Achilles heel on defense this year, but they also have always struggled to defend the flats and once again, cover running backs out of the backfield.
That makes this Super Bowl matchup and more specifically, the matchup against Christian McCaffrey, tailor-made for Drue Tranquill. It will be a team effort to try and stop McCaffrey and to solve San Francisco's elaborate zone running scheme that is made to take out linebackers in the second level of the defense, but Tranquill is the one linebacker Kansas City has that has the profile to defend McCaffrey.
The strategy from Steve Spagnuolo and staff is to blanket McCaffrey with Tranquill when a passing play is coming or when McCaffrey lines up in the slot. Tranquill is also the guy you're going to trust most out of the linebackers to slip out from blocks and make splash plays at the line of scrimmage. If Kansas City can effectively do that, you trust the secondary to shut down the rest of the passing attack and give the Chiefs the best chance to win.
Tranquill's functional athleticism allows him to run with McCaffrey and cover him down the field when needed. If Tranquill is essentially playing a running back spy on McCaffrey and shadowing him, you can allow the rest of the linebackers and the defensive backs to come downhill in run support when needed and allocate more resources elsewhere since the 49ers have so many weapons. Ultimately, though, if you can shut down the engine (McCaffrey) who has been the majority of San Francisco's offense this year, you can stop the vehicle that is the 49ers offense.