The Kansas City Chiefs are asking a great deal from their pass rushers in 2018 with the lack of help in the secondary. Will they improve enough?
The Kansas City Chiefs defense is once again in question as we get closer to the regular season. Given the tough schedule that the team will face in the early portion of the season, its even more troubling to look at the defense, especially at the secondary.
After Brett Veach and the rest of the front office failed to address the cornerback position and even safety position successfully, it looks like we are in for another long season of watching the defense give up massive amounts of yards. Last season, the Chiefs were one of the worst against the pass ranking 29th in yards given up.
Cornerback Kendall Fuller was brought over in the Alex Smith trade with the Washington Redskins to replace Marcus Peters who was traded for peanuts. While the Chiefs got rid of every cornerback aside from Steven Nelson from last year’s roster, they failed to improve the starting roster by any means.
At the end of the season, Steven Nelson was a starter alongside Marcus Peters and Darrelle Revis who was brought in late in the year because Terrance Mitchell and Phillip Gaines were not starting talents. This season the defense will deploy Kendall Fuller, Steven Nelson, and Orlando Scandrick/David Amerson.
I fail to see how this group is any better than last year’s starting group. Amerson will be a project as the Chiefs try and use a scheme to better his abilities but he has been torched by second-team receivers most of the preseason giving no hope. Scandrick is the better option but is also aging and declining as well.
If Kansas City is going to survive this season and see the playoffs, they will have to rely heavily on the pass rush. While we can talk about surrounding Patrick Mahomes with as much talent as possible and I would agree, he can’t fix the defense. Right now, everyone is talking about how many points per game the offense will put up. How much will the defense allow is the real question?
Considering the organization addressed primarily the front seven, it’s time to see what they can do this season. In 2017, there was no help in the pass rush outside of Justin Houston and Chris Jones. Finding someone to put opposite of Houston that can provide pass rushing abilities is vital for the 2018 defense.
Second-year outside linebacker Tanoh Kpassagnon looks good in the preseason showing off his new arsenal of hand fighting and pass rushing moves. Rookie linebacker Breeland Speaks looks hopeful for the future, but how much playing time will he see early on? Unfortunately, Dee Ford is still running with the first team defense and now on the left side of the defense.
Regardless of who starts, the defense will have to find ways of bringing down the quarterback. Last season, the team tied for 24th in team sacks with the Oakland Raiders. Let that sink in for a minute. To protect the secondary, we will have to see a significant uptick in sacks and pressures this season.
The run defense looks improved with the additions of Anthony Hitchens, Xavier Williams, and Derrick Nnadi. Will that same unit be able to help bring down the quarterback? If not, we are in for a very long season watching the defense struggle to get off of the field. Especially considering that we will still be deploying Bob Sutton’s scheme, unfortunately.