KC Chiefs: Way too early look at defensive free agents after 2019
By Chris Clark
Linebacker
Along with the defensive’s improvement as a whole, it seems like the Chiefs’ linebacking corps has become a more reliable group.
As the season has progressed, the concerns with communication and alignment appear to be less and less. While the Chiefs’ don’t have a superstar linebacker, they at least have a group that is playing well together. Thankfully, Kansas City’s group here will mostly stay together in 2020 with only two slated to become free agents – Reggie Ragland and Darron Lee.
Ragland is in his third year with Kansas City and seems to be a mixed bag, falling in and out of favor with Chiefs fans from season to season. He’s a solid run stuffer, but hasn’t seemed to put it all out there yet. At only 26 years old, the Chiefs should consider retaining Ragland, as long as the price is right.
Similar to Ragland, Lee has been a bit hard to gauge in terms of his value to the team. Granted it’s only Lee’s first year in Kansas City and he’s still adjusting to Spagnuolo’s system, but he doesn’t seem to contribute a lot on defense for being a former first-round pick. It’s hard to tell if the Chiefs will look to extend him or just cut their losses and move on.
No matter the outcome with these two players, Kansas City could very well shake things up at the linebacker position this offseason. Thankfully, Spagnuolo appears to be changing the defensive culture in Kansas City and uses a variety of personnel on the field.
It seemed a bit odd when the Chiefs chose to use an active roster spot for Demone Harris, a defender just signed off of the Raven practice squad a few weeks ago. Harris has been listed as a 6’4″, 272-pound defensive end, but is listed as a linebacker on the Chiefs roster.
So, did Brett Veach and the defensive staff see a guy they could use in a versatile roll? Maybe the bigger question is if they could see other players like Harris being used in a variation of defensive packages.
With injuries to the defensive end position earlier in the season, it wasn’t uncommon to see Chris Jones taking snaps as an edge rusher. Moves like this can wreak havoc on opposing offenses, not knowing exactly how to game plan for it. Mixing up the looks at linebacker could prove to be fruitful for Kansas City as well. They could look to add a linebacker who’s big enough to stuff the run and quick enough to rusher the passer.
Bringing in veteran linebacker Jamie Collins could allow the Chiefs to use the big linebacker in a variety of roles. He is a little older at age 30, but could potentially be brought in a short-term contract. While he wouldn’t be the long-term answer, Collins could provide some time for Kansas City to experiment and then continue to build the defense to their liking.
Even though this position group seems to be coming together, look for the Chiefs to continue to improve it.