The Kansas City Chiefs made a concerted decision to invest in Jeffrey Bassa as the team's stand-in at the MIKE or WILL linebacker positions behind Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill by letting Leo Chenal walk in free agency. Bassa was mainly a WILL, having mostly played in the middle during his collegiate career with the Oregon Ducks. Chenal joins the Washington Commanders on a three-year deal, likely to play on the weak side, though versatile enough to play at all three linebacker spots.
Bassa's role is now obvious: he'll be plugging a hole at either spot, should there be any injury issues. With Steve Spagnuolo's 4-2-5 nickel base, there won't be a ton of opportunities to share the field with Bolton and Tranquill, but an injury points him right in the mix.
Without Chenal in front of him, the 2025 fifth-round pick is in a position to take a significant leap forward this coming year. Bassa had an 85.7 overall defensive grade and an 84.6 Coverage Grade from PFF during his rookie season. With a 4.63 40-Yard Dash, Bassa is extremely athletic and has safety instincts, having originally played as a DB before shifting to a LB role. Given how the Chiefs gave up 3.7 yards of separation per target to opposing receivers throughout the 2025 season, more snaps for Bassa would be far from a bad thing.
Jeffrey Bassa believes he's been ready to step up for Chiefs
Bassa is luckily not short on confidence, having felt adequately prepared for KC defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's schemes by his former head coach at Oregon, legendary defensive mind Dan Lanning. Before becoming the head coach of the Ducks, Lanning coached up five first-round 2022 draft picks during his time as the Georgia Bulldogs' defensive coordinator.
"I think it prepared me tremendously, especially playing in Coach Lanning’s defense," Bassa said in a recent interview with Big Ten Network. "That's a defense that not a lot of people are running nowadays. And I feel like that defense really prepared me, especially for me going from here to the Chiefs, you know, with Coach Spags [Steve Spagnuolo] and the Chiefs running a complex defense. I feel like I was really prepared when it came to the metal aspect of the game."
If getting to play multiple positions across the defense throughout his four years in Eugene has Bassa prepared for an expanded role at the two LB spots in Spags' defense, the Kingdom owes Lanning a big thank you.
We'll see if the former day three NFL draft pick can develop into a winning piece in Kansas City as he did in Oregon, when he wore the green dot amid an undefeated, Big Ten Championship campaign in 2024.
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