Leo Chenal, the Chiefs' (box) swiss army knife
The 3rd year LB lined up all over the place for Spags in the box against Baltimore.
If you were to ask me what position Leo Chenal plays in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, I think I’d have to answer “football player.”
The actual answer would be linebacker, of course. But answering precisely what KIND of linebacker he is becomes significantly more complicated, especially when playing a run-heavy team that lines up extra tight ends and a fullback more often than most. You know, a team like the Baltimore Ravens.
Chenal received a great deal of praise from Chiefs fans during and after Thursday night’s season-opening win over the Ravens, and deservedly so. He made quite a few nice plays as a run defender, blitzer, and spy, as well as a few absolutely crucial plays in which he knocked passes down at the line of scrimmage. He lined up almost everywhere you can line up within the box, allowed Steve Spagnuolo to utilize some unique personnel formations, and was asked to do a number of different things that capitalized on his skillset.
While I think there’s a good chance that you’ll see less of Chenal in Week 2 against the Bengals (a team that’s far less inclined to using 12 or 21 personnel than the Ravens), I also believe that Chenal’s strong follow up to a terrific performance in the Super Bowl shouldn’t be ignored. In fact, I think there’s a good chance that Chenal is the player who helps the Chiefs at least somewhat weather their shortage of bodies along the defensive line, as well as match up against the “bigger” offenses they face on their schedule.
Let’s talk about Chanel’s varied use against the Ravens, how Spags utilized him to help counter the Ravens personnel groupings, and how I think he’ll continue to be an important cog in the Chiefs defense against specific opponents and in helping cover up their lack of numbers up front.
(Yes, I know many of you want a writeup on Nick Bolton. That’s coming next week, after I look at Kingsley Suamataia’s snaps. But let’s stick to fun topics for now, eh? And there are few guys more fun to write about than Chenal)