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Kansas City Chiefs: Options For Replacing Dontari Poe

Former Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Former Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Jaye Howard
Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Jaye Howard. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Tackle Options

Jaye Howard – Kansas City Chiefs

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Perhaps the most logical move the Kansas City Chiefs could make in replacing Dontari Poe is to use Jaye Howard. It was Howard who filled in for Poe back in the 2015 preseason when the starter went down. Howard is not your prototypical 3-4 defensive tackle, but he has proven himself to be up to the task. Especially if the Chiefs can rotate a young player in with him.

In all honesty, this actually addresses another concern for the Chiefs in 2017. As it stands, we have no idea who the starting defensive ends will be next year. Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey are the incumbents, and very good ones. However, both Chris Jones and Rakeem Nunez-Roches played very well when called upon due to injuries to those starters.

Moving Jaye Howard to the middle of the defensive line will allow KC more opportunities to rotate their talented players around. This is actually a pretty good problem to have, and not too shabby of a way to handle it. Furthermore, Howard knows the defense already so you don’t lose much time in adjusting players to scheme.

Next: Kansas City Chiefs: Making Berry And Poe Contract Work

The Kansas City Chiefs would love to be able to keep Dontari Poe in house if at all possible. Unfortunately, the means for doing that are very limited and the Chiefs do have other options. It may simply be what is best for the team to move on from the talented big man and try a new approach.