KC Chiefs: Mike Pennel returning in 2020 would be pivotal for defense

The KC Chiefs already made one decision this offseason regarding Chris Jones, but they need to keep the train moving. One big pending free agent they need to keep in KC is Mike Pennel, who has expressed interest in returning.

When looking back at the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 2019 season, the defensive performance started to improve around November and that just so happened to be when Mike Pennel was inserted into the lineup and more of a mainstay on the defense.

Now I’m not saying that Pennel made all the difference because that’d be crazy. The Chiefs defense was led by Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark (two key free agent acquisitions a year ago, by signing and by trade), but Pennel certainly played a huge role in the defensive turnover.

Pennel – who turns 29 in May – is slated to be a free agent in the coming weeks, but the good news is that it appears both the Chiefs and Pennel are on the same page when it comes to keeping him in Chiefs red.

First and foremost, most fans will point to the hit Pennel had on Jimmy Garoppolo in the Super Bowl that led to an interception early on, which in turn allowed the Chiefs to kick a field goal. Pennel’s hit on Jimmy G wasn’t the only thing he did this season, as he totaled 24 tackles, two quarterback hits, and one sack during his 11 games he made with the Chiefs.

I shared Matt Verderame’s tweet pertaining to Pennel’s reps meeting with the Chiefs this week, but I also want to discuss an article Verderame wrote about Pennel prior to the Chiefs Super Bowl appearance.

In that article – which was accurately titld “Mike Pennel is the underrated stud of the Chiefs defense” – Verderame dove into how the run defense significantly improved with Pennel in the lineup.

"In eight games without Pennel in the lineup, Kansas City has allowed 158.4 rushing yards per game on 5.39 yards per carry.In 10 games with him (including playoffs), the Chiefs have surrendered 96.3 rushing yards on 4.28 YPC.The first set of stats would have ranked dead last in both categories across the league during the regular season. The latter statistics would’ve checked in seventh and 18th, respectively."

What Verderame wrote shows just how important Pennel was to the defense last year.

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This was a Chiefs defense who – for several years- could not stop the run even if their lives depended on it. We saw no name running backs gash this unit on the ground and it came back to bite them in the AFC title game a season ago.

As soon as Pennel was inserted into the lineup, things changed, and the run defense improved. Opponents could no longer run all over Kansas City. That made them a formidable defense and in turn, got them to the Super Bowl, which their defense played a crucial part in them winning it all and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Bringing Pennel back is a must for the Kansas City Chiefs. Their defense finally got it figured out and he was a huge reason as to why. He’d more than likely be able to make a nice chunk of change on the open market, but prior to his tenure in Kansas City, Pennel’s career was almost a wash.

Hopefully he looks at the team who gave him a chance to compete and sticks with them. He’s from Topeka initially, so perhaps that could factor in plus he’ll turn 29 years old in May, so he’s not exactly in his prime.

The Chiefs defense changed completely with Mike Pennel in the lineup. If he were to come back in 2020, then this unit would still be up there with the best of them.

What do you see happening with Mike Pennel this offseason?