KC Chiefs: Four position battles to watch for in 2019
By Chris Clark
Defensive Line
Like most of the defense, there has been an injection of new talent on the defensive front. The switch to a 4-3 defense caused the Chiefs to bring in a slew of big-bodied and athletic defensive ends. As for the interior lineman, the Chiefs selected a promising prospect in Khalen Saunders with a third-round pick.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones is the best on the roster at the interior position and an obvious starter. After that, the competition gets a little tougher. Second-year man, Derrick Nnadi, will likely be the other starter but Saunders is promising enough to compete for more than just rotational snaps.
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To round out that group, Xavier Williams and Justin Hamilton will be more notable names. While Williams is a hometown kid with a loyalty to the Chiefs and Kansas City, his nearly $3.7M 2019 cap hit may make him expendable. Even if Williams’ talents make him unique to certain defensive packages, he will really have to make a clear case for the 53-man roster to earn his paycheck.
It’s not likely that the Chiefs would part ways with Nnadi, Saunders, or Hamilton, especially since they’re collectively cheaper than Williams at the position. There’s no question that this will be a group to watch as the season gets closer. The battle for the edge position makes watching those front four all the more interesting.
In trading away a first-round pick and giving Frank Clark a massive contract, the Chiefs are clearly communicating that he’ll be a day one starter at defensive end. All signs seem to point to the veteran Alex Okafor holding down the other side. This doesn’t mean that it’ll be a given, though.
Chiefs Kingdom shouldn’t forget about Breeland Speaks, a player that the Chiefs moved up to pick in the second round of the 2018 draft. Another interesting option is third-year man Tanoh Kpassagnon, who will hopefully be a better fit in the new system.
The Chiefs also traded for Emmanuel Ogbah, who was the 32nd overall pick in the 2016 draft. Thankfully, the Chiefs have accumulated talent as well as experience at the defensive end position, which will make this one a more interesting battle as well.