Kansas City Chiefs: The Five Most Surprising Players Of 2016
By Ben Almquist
Kansas City Chiefs Most Surprising Players #4
Ramik Wilson
The Chiefs could have easily rolled over when they lost Derrick Johnson for the season. After all, that would have been two starting defensive ends and both starting inside linebackers lost for the year. Especially when the man replacing Johnson had been released at the beginning of the season and only brought back due to injuries.
However, Ramik Wilson quickly shut down the doubters. Wilson stepped into the role Derrick Johnson had played and instantly thrived. He demonstrated an ability to diagnose plays and get himself into position. While not at the level fans are accustomed to from DJ, Wilson did remind me a lot of the star linebacker when he first started out in the NFL.
Ramik Wilson still has some ways to go, but I’m not backing down from my stance that he is the heir to Derrick Johnson. Wilson showed a lot of natural instincts and is athletic enough to take advantage. However, he will need to get better at adjusting to misdirection and reading the offense.
Moving forward, I expect Ramik Wilson to become the primary backup to Derrick Johnson. While DJ has declared that he intends to keep playing, we know that his retirement isn’t too far away. Having Wilson ready to step up into a starting role as soon as that happens is a huge plus for the Chiefs.