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2019 Chiefs edge rushers - DE/OLB, Depth Chart (1 Viewer)

Tick

Footballguy
The Chiefs might be a good source for a top DE this year.  Their offense forces opposing teams to pass a lot, so the opportunities should be there.  Steve Spagnuolo is their new DC, and we saw what he did with the Giants when they had that string of awesome IDP DEs.

So, the notable holdovers from the 3-4 defense:

  • Chris Jones: My guess: DT.  Played 3-4 DE last season... DE on Ourlads, DT on Rotoworld.  Possible great option at DT, likely to give a lot of interior pressure.
  • Tanoh Kpassagnon: My guess: DE.  Played 3-4 OLB last season... DE on Rotoworld, OLB on Ourlads.  DE size, seems like a natural fit there.
  • Breeland Speaks: My guess: DE.  DE on Rotoworld, OLB on Ourlads.  Maybe slightly undersized, but seems like a DE to me.
New players they acquired this offseason:

  • Alex Okafor: DE.  New 3-year, $18M contract (8.8 guaranteed).  Had a decent season in NO in 17 until injury.  DE on Ourlads and Rotoworld
  • Emmanuel Ogbah: DE.  DE on Rotoworld, not shown on Ourlads yet.  Very good rookie season, injuries second season, disappointing third season.
Since my leagues don't split out DL, I'm most focused on who's going to play DE.  That looks like:

  • Ogbah
  • Okafor
  • Speaks
  • Kpassagnon
So what does the depth chart/rotation look like with those guys?  It's a good situation - whom do we target?  I have all 4 across various leagues.

 
I think Speaks and Kpassagnon have the biggest upside but are the biggest risks for not enough play time.  They are raw (especially Kpassagnon). 

I have always thought Ogbah should put up better numbers than he has.  It might be due to injuries but I wonder if he just isn't as good as he appears at times. 

I would probably rank them the following:

  1. Kpassagnon - if he hits he will be huge.  Lots of athleticism and if he gets "it" he could be a difference maker
  2. Ogbah - I just can't give up yet (probably safest pick of the four)
  3. Speaks - I think he has more upside than Okafor and flashed last year.  Biggest risk is lack of PT.
  4. Okafor - signed to a decent contract but coming off injury so how will that affect him.  I think he probably has the highest floor of all these guys. 
 
Very interested in how this shakes out as I have 3/4 of the above in a Dynasty League. 
Ogbah is only there this season and I believe he has the lowest upside. Okafor is a big question mark with his injury history.

Chris Jones UFA in 2020 but read they are trying to work out a deal.

 
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Absolutely agree that KC is a great place to look for IDP production. I see a drop in production from the guys they let leave (Houston/Ford) because there'll be less opportunity where they landed with inferior offenses. IDPs do so well when their team is playing with a lead. 

New DC obviously makes it tough to predict but I still see Speaks as the top target. I understand the upside argument for KP but I'll target the known producer first whenever possible, or until we see the team in practice/play and get a better idea of how these players will be used. When Houston was out last season it was all Speaks. Weeks 6-9 Speaks was 97% 98% 92% 87% of snaps. KP (listed as DE so it's not truly apples/apples) was 0% 0% 11% 17% though, to be fair, I have no idea if there was injury. 

Ogbah has had hype each season and been called a breakout candidate... hasn't happened. Maybe it will, and he's a decent dart but only if you couldn't get the others and I still may just pass until seeing some life.

Okafor is a bye week filler, imo. He's got 1 8 sack season and the rest are just average. I'm not rushing out to add him but he's a likely to be a decent plug and play if he gets the snap % to be useful. I'm adding younger players with upside and leaving guys like Okafor on the wire until something substantial can be found about his use & PT.

Don't forget about Dorian O'Daniel. If he kicks to OLB it sucks but it's possible he becomes a moneybacker type. It's also possible he takes over for Hitchens, as the press on Hitchens was poor most of the year (if someone has PFF scores, I believe that's what was bad). We all know 3 down LB trumps all, even if it's an OLB designation.

EDIT: After typing that, I found this article with predictions on their depth chart. You'd think by now I'd look first... lol

 
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Kpassagnon has been incredibly underwhelming thus far, though he was an awful fit in a 3-4. Same goes for Speaks, although he did seem to improve in small ways as the season went along. It will be interesting to see how they look with a competent DC and a system that suits their styles better. 

On paper, is there a worse group of starting edge rushers in the league? There's certainly a chance that one of them breaks out, but I think it's also a possible that none of them look particularly special and KC has a horrendous edge rush by committee all year.

 
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With the move to 4-3 defense and the lack of a good pass rush means Jones won't come close to his sack numbers from last year. I would move him if you can get a good value.

In DT leagues Jones might not even be a top 10 DT. That could change but not counting on him for 2019. I think their defense is going to be bad in 2019 with their offense scoring so quickly. 

Draft will show us how much more they will invest in the new 4-3 defense. 

I am staying away from KC IDP players unless they are steals. 

 
I am staying away from KC IDP players unless they are steals. 
They're pretty much all steals.  These guys were all won in free agent auctions in my leagues this offseason where people have around $250 in free agent bucks:

  • Okafor $9, $11, $27
  • Kpassagnon $1
  • Speaks $1
  • Ogbah $6
  • Bailey $1
  • Sorensen $1, $1, $1
  • O'Daniel $3, $8
  • Ragland $16, $40
  • Fuller $1, $2
  • Wilson $1
 
I think Hitchens could have huge season since he is now the MLB. I think seeing what KC does in the draft will be key. 

I like Speaks and O'Daniel but they might not produce enough this year to be fantasy relevant this year.

 
Good stuff.  I am woefully inactive here for now, this is always a tough part of the year with work and personal activities for me so I haven't updated my "32 schemes" post in a while, but this is the first thing that motivated me to get up and do so.  Added this into the KCC section of that thread.

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/753987-all-32-defensive-schemes-and-key-players-within-them/
Sorry, there is a problem

This content can no longer be edited. It may have been moved or deleted, or too much time may have passed since it was posted for it to be edited.

Error code: 2F173/E

 
Tick said:
Sorry, there is a problem

This content can no longer be edited. It may have been moved or deleted, or too much time may have passed since it was posted for it to be edited.

Error code: 2F173/E
ah, there's a ?do=edit at the end of the link which, because you aren't the OP, you can't do.  I must have not yet saved it when I posted that but the thread is there and fine.

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/753987-all-32-defensive-schemes-and-key-players-within-them/

 
Yeah, this probably means that they rotate like crazy across from Clark so that nobody gets enough value to belong on our rosters.

 
Yeah, this probably means that they rotate like crazy across from Clark so that nobody gets enough value to belong on our rosters.
I'm thinking the same. I still consider Speaks the favorite but the team adding Okafor and Ogbah makes it likely they get a chance, too. Any of them that were added become droppable with this news. I'd try to hold at least until some info becomes available on who may start and/or one of them has a strong camp/preseason. That's an awfully long time to sit on any of them, though. 

 

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