Kansas City Chiefs: Breeland Speaks discusses progress

The Kansas City Chiefs are converting rookie Breeland Speaks from defensive lineman to outside linebacker in 2018. How is the transition going so far?

The Kansas City Chiefs moved up in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft to make their first selection taking Ole Miss defensive tackle Breeland Speaks. Immediately following the pick, head coach Andy Reid stated that Speaks would play at outside linebacker and slide inside on pass downs.

When going over Speaks’ film from college, I saw him line up all over the place in the defense. He spent time at defensive tackle, defensive end, and as an off-man linebacker behind the defensive line. Moving the 6’3″, 285-pound lineman to outside linebacker seemed very interesting to me.

The Chiefs did something similar just last season by drafting Tanoh Kpassagnon in the second round and converting him to outside linebacker. Kpassagnon was an extremely raw talent coming out of college and spent most of the season developing behind veterans. As the season went on, Tanoh saw limited playing time as a relief in the Chiefs defense.

In the finale of the 2017 season against the Denver Broncos, Tanoh had a chance to start for the first time and show what he has learned during the season. Was it enough development to secure himself a starting spot in 2018? Apparently not considering the Chiefs drafted Breeland Speaks.

It’s obvious that Kansas City wants to get bigger at the outside linebacker position. Given that Dee Ford has been inconsistent and unable to stay on the field recently, the Chiefs look to get bigger and meaner at the outside linebacker position.

Speaks reported to camp and spoke to reporters about his progress on Monday following camp practice. He’s been working hard this offseason to get in shape for the new position, and it seems that Reid told him to do a lot of running before camp.

"“That was probably the best advice because I know it’s going to get nasty out here soon so preparing myself for that and getting ready for this training camp,” Speaks said. “I used to run a hill — probably about 20-25 times.”“Doing gassers, I know we’ve got a big conditioning test coming up. If I didn’t do anything else, if I didn’t work on quick feet, work in the sand or do anything else that day, I ran. Just wanted to make sure I’m in shape.”"

Speaks talked about working on dropping into coverage as the Chiefs often ask their outside linebackers to do. He mentioned that he played middle linebacker in high school which is something he was not asked to do in college until his final season.

He talked about doing defensive back drills to work on coverage assignments this offseason. Working in the sand was another was he worked to improve the quickness of his feet.

The biggest thing to look for come training camp and preseason is whether Speaks can develop more than one or two counter pass rushing moves. It’s an area that Ford himself has struggled to develop. Ford has been with the Chiefs for four seasons, going into season five, and continues to use the bullrush move almost every down while being undersized.

Coming into the NFL, Speaks will have to learn some moves to take on NFL caliber offensive linemen. When studying his film, I didn’t see the bend around the edge that I saw from Tanoh. Without that natural bend around the edge, Speaks will have to develop some pass rushing moves of his own. Andy Reid talked about that following Monday’s practice.

"“When you are young, you might have one move that is your favorite move,” he said. “And in the NFL, they take that away from you. How are you going to counter that? Are you going to work on those things that help counter that move? And add to the repertoire you can throw at the offensive lineman.”"

Next: Andy Reid addresses media before the start of training camp

Speaks has been working on that this offseason with the veterans. He spoke about how the veteran linebackers took him under their wing and are helping him improve in that category. The outside linebacker position across from Justin Houston is one that I’m very excited to see this camp and preseason. Who will make the starting job and how often will the Chiefs rotate in 2018?

Home/Kansas City Chiefs