Moving up or going down, Part 2; The 2023 Chiefs defensive roster

Looking at the current projected defensive roster for the 2023 Chiefs by each position group and comparing it to 2022.

There have been a number of changes up and down Kansas City’s roster this offseason. With that in mind, I thought it might be useful to go through each position group and discuss whether it’s moving up or going down based on the changes this offseason. After all, it’s not every year one gets to compare their roster to a Super Bowl winner from the year before.

I’m writing about about each of the position groups, how they changed, then give a verdict on whether we’re moving “up” or “down.” In part 1, we looked at the changes to the offense (outside of running back, for reasons I’ll pretend were good ones). Today, we’ll look at the defense.

Ever since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, the general feeling regarding defense is simple ; Don’t stink, and you’re the Super Bowl favorite.

And really… that’s been sort of true. The Chiefs have ranked higher than 16th three times in defensive DVOA (basically, defensive efficiency in terms of stopping teams from moving the ball and scoring) in the Mahomes era: 2019, 2021, and 2022, during which they ranked 14th, 13th, and 14th in that category. In case you didn’t know, in two of those three years they won the Super Bowl. For those who are curious, Kansas City ranked 22nd in that category in 2018 and 24th in 2020.

In other words, in the three years the Chiefs have had an “average” defense with Patrick Mahomes at QB, they won the Super Bowl in two of them.

Last year, the defense was the subject of a lot of discussion throughout the season, from the complementary pass rush that struggled early but finished strong to how they looked defending the middle of the field. With a strong performance in the playoffs (even the Super Bowl was well-played overall, they just ran into an incredible game by Hurts), the defense helped a hobbled Mahomes bring home the Lombardi.

But now it’s 2023, and there’s been a fair amount of turnover. Multiple starters and big-snap-number players are gone, and some new faces look to pick up playing time. Additionally, a really good rookie class has had a year in the system.

So overall, is the defense moving up or going down? Let’s take a look at it by each position group, sorting by cornerbacks, safeties, linebackers, and defensive line.