The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense is one of the best in football, but it did lose multiple pieces over the offseason.
Kansas City traded cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans, and linebacker Willie Gay signed with the New Orleans Saints.
With that said, multiple guys have had nice showings at training camp thus far and are ready for bigger roles.
LB Drue Tranquill
Tranquill was tremendous down the stretch and in the playoffs for the Chiefs, and his summer is off to a good start, as well. The Chiefs will lean on him or at the weakside backer spot in the defense in the absence of Gay, and he is reportedly looking good in the transition. He stuck to the hips of Isiah Pacheco and Jared Wiley in one-on-one drills, and made a nice play against the run by stuffing a run to the outside.
It starts with how easy it looks for him in coverage. He ran the route for both Pacheco & Wiley in 1v1s today, preventing an in-rhythm throw
— Ron Kopp Jr. (@Ron_Kopp) July 28, 2024
He has also popped in run D. On Saturday, he blew up one outside run by taking on Creed in a lane
Tranquill has more than earned a bigger role in the defense in 2024, and it looks as if he is more than ready.
S Chamarri Conner
Conner is another guy whose role grew as the 2023 season went on. With Sneed gone, the Chiefs will move Trent McDuffie to the outside in more situations, which would likely lead to Conner playing in the slot as he did in certain situations last season. He broke up a pass intended for Noah Gray in one-on-ones, showing off his physicality.
His urgency to the ball and physicality at the point of attack were his most proven traits as a rookie, and that only ramps up a/ experience
— Ron Kopp Jr. (@Ron_Kopp) July 28, 2024
That’s shown in camp. He made a few jarring hits on Saturday, and broke hard on a Noah Gray out in 1v1s today to blow up a would-be catch
Conner will be a name more fans around the league become more aware of in 2024.
CB Kelvin Joseph
Joseph had a nice practice on Sunday, taking advantage of Jaylen Watson and Nazeeh Johnson not practicing. He broke up consecutive passes defending Xavier Worthy - one on a slant, one on an intermediate out route.
Joseph made a big statement with back-to-back defended passes while covering Worthy Sunday
— Ron Kopp Jr. (@Ron_Kopp) July 28, 2024
On the 1st, he came down hard on a slant and prevented X from securing it
The 2nd, he stuck with Worthy on a 10-12 yard out, reaching in and backhanding the ball away from inside leverage
With Sneed gone, the Chiefs will need as many guys to step up at cornerback as they can get.
