Kansas City Chiefs: Five Players To Watch Against Chargers

Inside Linebackers

The hype around the inside linebacker position this offseason has been surreal. Reggie Ragland was brought over in a trade last preseason and took some time to get healthy enough to see playing time. As he got healthy, he saw more and more playing time. By the end of the season, it was hard not to be excited thinking about what Kansas City got by grabbing Ragland.

Veach doubled down this offseason by bringing in former Dallas Cowboys inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens. During his time in Dallas, he spent time at all of the linebacker positions showing his versatility. He’s another hard hitter that is great at attacking the run game.

We have seen very little from the duo that I’m excited about. Both suffered small injuries during training camp that kept them limited at practice, and out for most of the preseason. The only time we saw Ragland and Hitchens in game form was in Week 3 of the preseason against the Chicago Bears. It was not a great showing as you could tell that both were knocking the rust off.

Even with somewhat of a disappointing one game in the preseason, take that how you may, I’m excited to see how this duo looks come Week 1 against the Chargers. Not to mention the rest of the season. Kansas City worked hard to bolster the front of the defense this offseason. It’s also been many years since we had two solid inside linebackers. With Melvin Gordon coming out of Los Angeles’ backfield, Ragland and Hitchens will have to make some noise.