Kansas City Chiefs: Dee Ford Rises Above The Critics
By Ben Almquist
The Kansas City Chiefs have gotten a surprising burst of development from Dee Ford. The star pass rusher is silencing all of his critics right now.
At the start of the 2016 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t generate a pass rush worth anything. Naturally, that built up some ire in the fan base as Chiefs Kingdom has gotten used to seeing sacks. When the fans get upset, they need a scapegoat. The most logical choice for that scapegoat was third year outside linebacker Dee Ford.
As a first round pick, the expectations for Dee Ford were sky high. Chiefs fans thought that he would be an almost immediate replacement for the aging Tamba Hali. The development did not come nearly as fast as expected. In fact, Dee Ford remained a disappointment through even the first four games of this season. It led to a lot of negative reactions.
There were no shortage of stories on how the Chiefs would need to replace Dee Ford. I know I talked about it. Hey, the Chiefs pass rush was in shambles and the guy who was supposed to fix it wasn’t doing it. So I passed my judgment.
Ford has improved in some areas, but his pass rushing is just awful. His ceiling is...well, it's what Frank Zombo does now. #Chiefs
— CitadelChief (@citadelchief) September 26, 2016
However, that has all changed now as Ford has suddenly started to light the league on fire as a premier pass rusher. Currently, Ford is tied for first in the NFL with Lorenzo Alexander with ten sacks. That is half a sack more than Denver’s Von Miller, who has also played in one more game than Dee Ford.
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Ready To Dominate
With the return of Justin Houston imminent, there is plenty of reason to be excited about Dee Ford’s future. As of now, teams are throwing double teams at Ford pretty consistently. However, that will be virtually impossible when offenses have to account for Houston on the other side. Ford will begin to see more and more opportunities.
The timing of Dee Ford’s development is also very beneficial to the Chiefs for another reason. The team will be faced with the decision of whether or not to use the 5th Year Option on Ford this offseason. That move is now a no-brainer. However, there is also the option that the Chiefs simply decide to sign the pass rusher to an early extension.
Dee Ford has become an honest-to-God threat in pass-rush situations
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) November 13, 2016
The development of Dee Ford has also thrown my Chiefs 2017 NFL Draft big board into disarray. Accounting both for Ford’s improvement and long-term availability, pass rusher has fallen completely off my list. I would say that is quite the turnaround for the young player.
Ford becoming a top tier pass rusher also means that the Chiefs will be covered for the eventual end of Tamba Hali’s career in Kansas City. In fact, I would not be surprised at a retirement announcement from Hali at the end of the season. That is especially true if the Chiefs can win the Super Bowl…a goal that is no longer just a pipe dream.
Next: Kansas City Chiefs: Top 10 Draft Targets For 2017 v.2
The Kansas City Chiefs are sitting in a good position for the 2016 NFL season, and a lot of that has to do with Dee Ford. As he has developed, the Chiefs pass rush has been able to pick up a lot of the slack for the team. The ability of KC’s pass rushers to get into the backfield has played a direct role in several wins. Dee Ford is doing what he was drafted to do.