Kansas City Chiefs: The Curious Case of Dorian O’Daniel
By Shade Piper
Make or Break Year
Contractually speaking, next season would actually be O’Daniels “contract year”, but he could also be released with very little dead cap. Salary cap aside, this is a big year for him because it could determine his future in the league. This season could be his last real chance to be a linebacker rather than a glorified special teamer.
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Heading into the 2020 NFL season,r the Chiefs have just four linebackers with really any NFL experience. This could thrust him into some playing time on defense. If he is able to seamlessly fill in as new Chiefs WILL linebacker, Willie Gay Jr, it would not only be good for the Chiefs but also for O’Daniel and his future in the NFL.
Now, there is no disputing his importance on special teams for the Chiefs. If you’re primarily a special teams player, there may not be a better place in the league to play than in Kansas City for Coach Toub, but you better believe O’Daniel wants more.
There will likely always be a spot for O’Daniel on the Chiefs’ special teams unit. This season – before heading into a contract year – he needs to either prove that he is impactful enough on special teams to be worth keeping long term for that reason alone or his athleticism needs to start translating into defense snaps (or both preferably).
So the answer to our original questions: bust or bigger role? It’s probably too early to definitively give him either label. Break out or special teamer? We know he’s going to bring it on special teams, here’s to hoping he can break out on defense as well.
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Could this finally be Dorian O’Daniel’s break out year Chiefs Kingdom has been waiting for or is he destined for mediocrity? Only time will tell, but this is the season that Chiefs fans will start to get their clarity.