Kansas City Chiefs: Replacing Derrick Johnson Should Come From Within

Terrance Smith

Another option for the Kansas City Chiefs to replace Derrick Johnson would be undrafted free agent (UDFA) Terrance Smith. Utilizing Smith would actually fall pretty much in line with how the Chiefs do business. Over the past few years, the team has had a lot of success in finding talent through less than normal means. UDFAs certainly count in that regard.

The question regarding Terrance Smith is simply whether or not he is ready to take on any kind of role in the defense. Smith has played limited snaps on Special Teams for the Chiefs over the past several weeks, but has yet to be in on a single defensive play all year. That would be a lot of responsibility for an untested young man.

I’m marking this down as the absolute last resort option for the Chiefs. In fact, I would advocate signing a veteran ahead of playing Terrance Smith at this point. There is just far too much unknown about him. I believe Smith has a lot of potential, but he needs to be brought along slowly. Throwing him to the wolves with the Chiefs playoff hopes on the line is just too much of a risk.