Kansas City Chiefs: Anthony Hitchens Is What This Defense Needs

The Kansas City Chiefs had an overhaul on defense during the offseason. Anthony Hitchens fits the type of what Brett Veach wants on defense.

The Kansas City Chiefs decided it was time for a major overhaul on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. General manager Brett Veach was highly unpleased with the showing from the defense not only last season but especially in the playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans.

He decided to move on from older veterans and players that were not willing to play four quarters of football in his mind. It was an emotional offseason for Chiefs fans as they watched long time Chiefs including Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, and Ron Parker leave the building. One of the biggest uproars came after the trade of cornerback Marcus Peters.

When you look at those key names, and then some of the smaller names like Bennie Logan, Terrance Mitchell, and Kenneth Acker, you see the trend that Veach is working on. Getting rid of players that have fallen off and players that are not willing to be aggressive in every aspect of the game.

Many of the rumors surrounding the Peters trade revolved around his lack of leadership, quitting or not being aggressive on specific plays, and his antics on and off the field. Veach decided he wanted to get younger on the defensive side of the ball and meaner as well.

One of the first things Veach did this offseason was adding linebacker Anthony Hitchens from Dallas at linebacker. Veach wanted Hitchens last season which made the signing easier for Hitchens as he told reporters following Monday’s practice.

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"“I spoke on this earlier in the spring. It was when (Brett) Veach was trying to get me last year from the Cowboys. It made my decision a lot easier. He told me what type of players he wanted and it fit my category. He wanted hard nose players that work hard and aggressive and want to play ball. That right there is exactly what I wanted in a team and I have everything here. The other fact that he called my agent and he called the Cowboys and tried to get me here last year during training camp. Obviously that didn’t happen and once free agency started he came right back at me again. It made my decision a lot easier and I know a couple players that came through this system and I asked them about it. I don’t know if y’all remember Justin March(-Lillard), he was a linebacker here last year. He’s with the Cowboys now. He explained to me how the people here are, the coach, how the players are and it’s similar to what I’m used to and it made the decision a lot easier.”"

Finding another hard nose and hard-hitting tackler to place alongside inside linebacker Reggie Ragland was a significant need this offseason. Kansas City has spent years trying to find someone to compliment Derrick Johnson and failed. Now, with Ragland and Hitchens commanding the middle, we could see some significant differences on the defense.

According to Reid, Hitchens has been the one calling plays to the defense. He will likely be the team’s three-down linebacker as he has more experience in coverage. Ragland saw significant improvements as he got healthy over the course of the 2017 season and more snaps as well.

Hitchens mentioned what the point of emphasis was on for the defense. Third downs and stopping the run have been the critical focus so far at training camp. He spoke of defensive coordinator Bob Sutton reading off stats to the defense before practice and then talking about their stats from practice at the end.

With other additions around the front of the defense, the Chiefs should look much better against the run on defense. Third downs will be a major spot to keep an eye on. Both have been trouble for years, especially in the “bend but don’t break defense” that Sutton runs, but Hitchens is the right kind of player to help this defense get back on track.