3 Aging Chiefs Veterans Who Should Be Replaced in the NFL Draft

2. Mike Pennel - DT

The Chiefs are thin at defensive tackle and Mike Pennel played a valuable role in the playoffs, notching six tackles in the Super Bowl as a steady defensive presence up front. However, he'll be 33 years old when the 2024 season starts and Kansas City needs to shore up depth on the interior defensive line.

Derrick Nnadi and Tershawn Wharton are both on the roster but neither are true difference-makers. If the Chiefs landed an impact defensive tackle to support its exceptional defensive end group, this defense might become even better than last year's version.

If this defense has a weakness, it's stopping the run up the middle. They've improved in that category, though it's the one area opposing offenses can attack Steve Spagnuolo's group. We saw Pennel help slow Christian McCaffrey down in the Super Bowl and the Chiefs need to plan for the future at the position.

Kansas City doesn't have many holes defensively, though defensive tackle would be at the top of the short list. Snagging a quality rookie would give the organization a cost-friendly player at a position of need, especially given the barren landscape of the free agent market moving forward.

Whether or not the Chiefs select an interior defensive lineman early in the draft, I expect that Veach will at least strongly consider it.