Kansas City Chiefs: Defense may be the best in AFC West

3 of 5

KANSAS CITY, MO – JANUARY 06: Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker Reggie Ragland (59) in the fourth quarter of the AFC Wild Card game between the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs on January 6, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. The Titans came back from a 21-3 deficit at halftime to win 22-21. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Comparing the linebacker groups of the AFC West

The linebacker group for the Chiefs has had a facelift. This group went from one of the oldest in the league to one of the youngest in just one offseason.

Oakland Raiders

Bruce Irvin, Tahir Whitehead, Emmanuel Lamur, and Derrick Johnson make up the core of the linebacker group. Together, these four have 1,506 tackles combined. Of course, DJ has 938 of those tackles. The group combines for 68 sacks and a bundle of forced fumbles and interceptions.

This linebacker group is solid, to say the least. Johnson may not have a huge role in this defense, but with the lack of depth behind him, we will see plenty of DJ in black and silver.

Denver Broncos

Von Miller, Todd Davis, Shane Ray, Brandon Marshall, and Bradley Chubb make up the Broncos linebacker core. Together this group has 809 tackles to go along with 104.5 sacks. *3.5 of those sacks belong to Miller.

Chubb will be an added weapon to this group that should compliment Miller and Marshall well. Von is one of the greatest linebackers to ever play the game.

LA Chargers

Denzel Perryman, Hayes Pullard, Kyle Emanuel, and Uchenna Nwosu are your core linebackers for the Chargers in 2018. Ingram plays both OLB and DE so for argument’s sake I left him off this group. Collectively the group totals 263 tackles and 7 sacks.

It’s a who’s who of names you’ve never heard of. This group is unproven and lacking in depth. Definitely not a strong suit for the Chargers.

Kansas City Chiefs

Justin Houston, Reggie Ragland, Anthony Hitchens, Dee Ford, Tanoh Kpassagnon, and Breeland Speaks make up the revamped linebacker group for the Chiefs. They total 586 tackles and 92.5 sacks.

It’s the first season for the majority of these guys playing with each other. It’s definitely a group that looks much better than last year. Speaks is Hali 2.0 and Houston is 100% healthy again.

Tally

This is tough to grade. The Raiders have the best starting group of the bunch, while the Chiefs have the deepest, ironically. Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers.

Home/Kansas City Chiefs