Kansas City Chiefs: Five Defensive Players to Watch in 2018
By Chris Clark
(Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
DORIAN O’DANIEL
This rookie out of Clemson was an intriguing pick by Veach and company. According to his draft profile on the NFL’s website he is listed as an outside linebacker. At only 6’1′ and 223 pounds he is on the small side to play that position as a professional. It’ll be interesting to see how Bob Sutton might use him in the defense.
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Chiefs Kingdom lamented seeing Justin Houston drop back in coverage so much last season. Could the defense be scheming of a way to put a linebacker like player in a position to either drop back in coverage or run in on some blitz packages? This might cause opposing quarterbacks some confusion once the defense gets lined up.
According to Lance Zierlein, O’Daniel is “technically sound as a tackler”. This makes him all the more intriguing after watching the defense tackle poorly last season. Whatever he may lack in size or speed hopefully he will make up for in intensity on the field. Come September O’Daniel will be a player for Chiefs fans to watch and see how he is used on the defense.
CONCLUSION
Other names that could have made this list were players like Tanoh Kpassagnon and Kendall Fuller. Kpassagnon to see his improvement as an outside linebacker and Fuller to see if he brings the same strengths that he had in Washington to Kansas City.
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While they are intriguing names, they still play into the uncertainty of what this defense will look like. There is optimism, though, as the season approaches.
From getting a key player in Eric Berry back to seeing some of the youth movement taking place it looks to be an exciting season defensively. Here’s to hoping Chiefs Kingdom will be rewarded with a much improved defense as these players hit the field.