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Kansas City Chiefs are getting something special in Derrick Nnadi

By Chris Taylor

05 September 2016: Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) is sacked by Florida State Seminoles defensive end DeMarcus Walker (44) and Florida State Seminoles defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (91) during the NCAA football game between the Mississippi Rebels and the Florida State Seminoles at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
05 September 2016: Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) is sacked by Florida State Seminoles defensive end DeMarcus Walker (44) and Florida State Seminoles defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (91) during the NCAA football game between the Mississippi Rebels and the Florida State Seminoles at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Chiefs needed a nose tackle. Through the 2018 NFL Draft they found one in Derrick Nnadi from Florida State in the 3rd round.

The holes on the defensive side of the ball needed fixed. The Kansas City Chiefs not only addressed those needs, but perhaps addressed the biggest hole, nose tackle. In Derrick Nnadi, there won’t be any holes on the defensive front line for opposing running backs to run through during the 2018 season.

I reached out to Kelvin Hunt of ChopChat.com who has covered Derrick Nnadi and the Seminoles for quite some time. When asked what type of player the Kansas City  Chiefs were getting, this was his reply.

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"Kansas City is getting a player that has a funny personality off the field, but on the field he is a different animal. Nnadi is excellent against the run and an underrated pass rusher with a great motor. He’s ridiculously strong, squatting over 600 pounds with ease and does a great job of absorbing, then shedding blocks to make plays.He’s probably a bit undersized and if he were two inches taller he would have been a first round selection. Nnadi is also very durable, only missing a handful of games during his time at FSU. He’s the type of player that can play in the league a long time and be productive."

Now the Chiefs might have hit the jackpot here with Nnadi. He may be the best run stopping nose tackle coming out of the draft. Stopping the run was one of the Chiefs weak spots in previous seasons. The Chiefs ranked 25th in run defense last season. That led to them ranking 29th in pass defense. 

The run defense and pass defense complement one another. In this case there wasn’t a whole lot of complimenting going on. If the run defense is better than it was in 2017, the pass defense should be better as well, even with some big names like Marcus Peters and Ron Parker now gone. It’s comforting to know that the Chiefs know their needs.

Nnadi very well could be the starter come week one. My personal guess is that he will be. A Chiefs defense that can stop the run opens up so many opportunities for that side of the ball. With the other additions through free agency and the draft, the Chiefs are shaping up to be a team that the opposition will have a hard time game planning for.

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Derrick Nnadi has the chance to be very special. His personality fits with the other members of the defensive line, funny off the field, monster on the field. He has one job to do and that is stop the run. If the Chiefs can get better in that department, Nnadi will indeed have a long and fruitful career in the NFL.

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