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Chiefs News: Mike Danna developmental piece on defense

By Leigh Oleszczak

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI - SEPTEMBER 1: Mike Danna #57 of the Central Michigan Chippewas sacks Ben Cheek #8 of the Presbyterian Blue Hose in the second half at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on September 1, 2016 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI - SEPTEMBER 1: Mike Danna #57 of the Central Michigan Chippewas sacks Ben Cheek #8 of the Presbyterian Blue Hose in the second half at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on September 1, 2016 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Chiefs news includes what is – as of now – the final pick of the 2020 NFL Draft for the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and it’s Mike Danna of Michigan.

With the 177th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected Mike Danna – an edge rusher out of Michigan. At first glance, this seems like a huge reach by Brett Veach and the Chiefs, as Danna was projected as an undrafted free agent by both NFL.com and The Draft Network.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com notes that he probably won’t stick on an NFL roster so why the Chiefs opted to target him here rather than as an undrafted free agent is a bit surprising.

Let’s give Veach the benefit of the doubt though. He’s earned that from Chiefs fans.

Danna spent the first four years of his career at Central Michigan and spent 2019 at Michigan. While with the Wolverines in 2019, Danna played in 13 games while tallying 38 tackles and three sacks during his lone season with Michigan.

The Chiefs needed an edge rusher and must have saw something they liked in Danna. There’s honestly not a lot of information on the kid on the draft sites, so it’s a bit hard to really list much about him right off the bat.

The tweet above mentioned that Danna can help against the run, but he might not be much more than a decent run stopper. Did the Chiefs potentially like that he was decent against the run and plan to develop him as a run stopper?

This is one of the more perplexing picks by Kansas City in this year’s draft, but they must have their reasons. Unless the Chiefs decide to trade into the sixth or seventh rounds, their 2020 NFL Draft is over. It concluded with them grabbing Clyde Edwards-Helaire in round one, Willie Gay in round two, Lucas Niang in round three, L’Jarius Sneed in round four, and now capped off with Mike Danna in round five.

The Chiefs hit major needs, but this last pick is one that I’ll be interested in hearing them explain their thought process.

What do you think of this selection, Chiefs fans?

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