Kansas City Chiefs: 3 questions for Steve Spagnuolo
By Josh Fann
Why is Juan Thornhill not playing?
One of the most head-scratching personnel decisions so far this year from the coaching staff has been the reluctance to play Dan Sorenson over Juan Thornhill at starting free safety. Thornhill only played 11 snaps last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens whereas Sorenson played 100% of the defensive snaps.
At this point, Thornhill is the more capable athlete. Some may argue Sorenson is more reliable but it is pretty evident that Sorenson has hit a wall. Through two games, Sorenson leads the league in missed tackles with nine and once again struggled in coverage.
Even stranger, Thornhill was coming off one of his better games as a pro where he made multiple plays against the Cleveland Browns to prevent the receiver from catching the ball. Despite that, Spagnuolo called the idea of making the change to Thornhill a “panic move” and stated that Thornhill would have to earn his way back during a Thursday press conference.
Don't expect Juan Thornhill to replace Dan Sorensen this week. On Thornhill, DC Steve Spagnuolo said: "He’s had spurts of good football. Juan’s done some good things for us. He just needs to earn his way back.''
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) September 23, 2021
Not really sure what else Thornhill has to do to earn his spot back or what else Sorenson has to do to lose it, but a lot of Chiefs Kingdom would disagree.
Thornhill needs to be this team’s deep safety. Sorenson simply doesn’t have the speed or twitch to cover downfield and Thornhill is a third-year top100 pick who you invested highly in. Now, give him the opportunity.