Kansas City Chiefs Player Spotlight: Akeem Jordan

Each week, KCKingdom will suggest a specific player for fans to pay special attention to during games. These players might be fighting for their jobs, they might be doing really well out of the spotlight, or they may be underachieving. For whatever reasons, there are always players on teams that need to be spotlighted. It is always good to really focus on a specific player for a couple of series’ and watch how they are playing then be aware of them the rest of the game.

Aug 20, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots running back Shane Vereen (34) carries the ball against Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Akeem Jordan (56) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

This week, we are going to shine the spotlight on Chiefs linebacker Akeem Jordan.

Jordan went undrafted out of James Madison in 2007, but he soon latched onto the Philadelphia Eagles. Andy Reid thought enough of his talents to keep him on the team for 6 seasons. He played in 9 games is rookie year, starting one, and tallied 17 tackles and 3 assists. In his career, he has played in 82 games, started 34, made 219 tackles and 44 assists. He has forced 2 fumbles, recovered 2 fumbles, and recorded 1 sack in his career.

According to NFL.com, 2008 and 2009 were his best seasons, recording 132 combined tackles in those seasons.

Obviously, Andy Reid enjoys a comfort level with with Jordan. No coach keeps a player who is not a every game starter around for 6 years without valuing something that player brings to the table. Jordan isn’t a big linebacker at 6’1, 230 and he doesn’t seem to do any one thing spectacularly well. He isn’t a pass rusher. He isn’t particularly good in pass coverage. He does seem to be around the ball quite often. Effort, enthusiasm, and versatility seem to be his biggest attributes.

I look forward to paying close attention to Jordan Saturday night against Pittsburgh. He is in a battle with rookie Nico Johnson for the starting spot beside Derrick Johnson at middle linebacker. As of now, Jordan is listed first on the depth chart and could just be a veteran placeholder until the rookie learns the professional ropes. Or maybe, Jordan, backed up by the faith of his head coach, will lock down the position for the season.

Either way, Jordan deserves a closer look tomorrow during the Chiefs third preseason game. Watch how he plays in pass coverage, how he tackles, and how he pursues the ball. See if he plays mistake-free football, or if he just an overachiever who will get exposed the more he plays.

Akeem Jordan is an intriguing player on this 2013 edition of the Chiefs. Keep track of him Saturday night and let’s see if we can see what Andy Reid likes so much about him.

(Note – The stats quoted are from NFL.com. I looked at several different sites, and there was a pretty big discrepancy in the numbers between some of these well-respected sites. I decided just to go with NFL.com because they are probably the official numbers.)