We’re officially a week away from the new league year and the start of the NFL’s free agency period.
Our friends over at Touchdown Wire recently identified the biggest need for every NFL team going into the 2020 NFL free agency period. For the Kansas City Chiefs, Doug Farrar believes they need to continue upgrading the defensive side of the ball and find “a fluid linebacker to complete their defense.”
Here’s a look what Farrar had to say about the Chiefs’ need at the linebacker position:
Last season, as new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo got his schemes aligned with his players and super-safety Tyrann Mathieu started playing at a Defensive Player of the Year pace, the Chiefs’ defense turned from a liability to a relative strength. That played into their Super Bowl win, and this defense could be even better with a few more parts. Cornerback depth would be nice, but the primary component for a defense that doesn’t blitz very often (last season, Kansas City brought three or four defenders to pressure the quarterback on 70% of their snaps) would be a linebacker or two who can jump into coverage with consistency. There’s no doubting Reggie Ragland as a leader — that came up over and over when talking to Chiefs players and coaches during Super Bowl week — but that’s not really Ragland’s game. And when you also consider that Spagnuolo had six or more defensive backs on the field 33% of the time last season (the sixth-highest percentage in the NFL), imagine what a true 360-degree, run-and-chase, coverage ‘backer could add to what the defending champs already have.
There is no denying Kansas City could use upgrades at the linebacker spot. The position is evolving where you need a different type of athlete than you did just a few years ago. You still need guys who can play the traditional linebacker role, but they also need to be able to run, hold up in man coverage and stay on the field for three downs.
I keep coming back to the fact that the 2019 unit was good enough to win a Super Bowl, despite their lack of a true coverage linebacker. I know that quietly there is still hope that former third-round pick Dorian O’Daniel can take up a bigger role going into his third season. There’s also a bit of an unknown on the roster in undrafted free agent Darius Harris, who spent the 2019 season injured. Brett Veach was really high on him and believes he’ll be a starter in the future.
We’ve already identified a few pending free agent linebackers who could help the Chiefs offset their expected departures at the position. The team could lose Reggie Ragland, Darron Lee and Damien Wilson in free agency. If they lose all three, that’d leave Anthony Hitchens as the only remaining starter on the roster. Veach has a history of ensuring he doesn’t go into the draft with any glaring needs. It would stand to reason that Kansas City would add at least one player at the position in free agency.