The Other Guys: What Non-Stars will impact the Chiefs' playoffs the most?
Looking at what players (beyond the most obvious) are most important to Kansas City's quest for a threepeat
Everyone knows that the Kansas City Chiefs’ threepeat hopes begin and end with Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones.
This isn’t news. Those guys are the foundational five of the Chiefs dynasty, as I wrote about when they brought home the Lombardi Trophy last year. They are all relied upon to do their jobs at a high level (or even impossibly high level in the case of Mahomes) in order for Kansas City to keep winning playoff games at close to an unprecedented rate. If they falter, the Chiefs will likely not be able to go all the way through a tough AFC field. Everyone knows this.
Covering those five (and marveling at how terrific they’ve been) has been one of the most fun parts of this job over the last half-decade. However, their importance to the dynasty is no secret, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to talk about them much in preparation for the playoffs as a whole. All of them will be needed if Kansas City wants to win yet another Super Bowl (and cement their status as the greatest dynasty in NFL history).
And so rather than discuss the most obvious, I’d like to look at the players who are the “other” guys that I believe will play the largest role in how the Chiefs will fare in the playoffs. The players I’m about to discuss are guys who I think that will impact Kansas City’s fate the most out of the “non-star” group, including some players whose role is more limited/niche. This can be due to a specific skillset, a weakness on other parts of the roster, and any other number of things.
Let’s talk about some important other guys. And you may want to grab a snack, there’s a LOT here to talk about.
Drue Tranquill
I want to begin in a very specific area of the Chiefs’ defense. Namely, their ability to defend the middle of the field as well as handle running backs in the flat. Tranquill will be vital to both of these areas.
Last season, Tranquill shared (at times) the intermediate level of the field with not only Nick Bolton, and Leo Chenal, but with Willie Gay Jr. as well. While the Chiefs moved on from Gay for a variety of reasons (he tended to find himself out of position at times, most importantly), he was one of the most athletic linebackers in the entire league and was a player who could assist with various coverages that required range over the middle of the field. He also had the speed to get to the boundary and tackling ability to finish when RBs were targeted in that portion of the field.
Now, covering the middle of the field (when Spags doesn’t pull him for Bolton, which I’ve just accepted is something that will happen) is something that often falls on Tranquill. And when Tranquill is playing well, it helps take the entire defense to another level by eliminating a weak area of the field for offenses to exploit.
This snap helps provide a little context of where Tranquill can be a boon the Chiefs’ defense. He gets depth and helps take away the route to the middle of the field, then passes that off and gets wider to help take away a throwing lane to the RB coming out of the backfield. The QB doesn’t have anywhere to go to that side of the field, and that gives pressure time to get home (remember, coverage and pressure are complementary). Finally Tranquill has enough speed to close FAST when the QB tries to scramble to create something out of the play.
Tranquill didn’t collect a stat on this play, but he was the primary defender who made it work. His coverage on both routes (and appropriately passing off when necessary) was huge, but his athleticism to help prevent the scramble was equally part of it. Neither Chenal or Bolton are able to make this play in its entirety, and that makes Tranquill absolutely crucial in terms of being able to help the defense avoid specific weaknesses (the middle of the field getting picked on and RBs getting the ball in space).
Remember, being a great defense is just as much about avoiding weak spots that offenses can exploit as it is having strengths. And when Tranquill is playing well, he helps shore up places that were a weak spot for the defense prior to 2023. A lowkey plot line from early in the season is that Tranquill wasn’t playing particularly well, and it resulted in some issues for the defense in those areas of the field. He’s tightened it up quite a bit, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. If Tranquill plays at a high level, the defense takes a big step forward. If he does not, that combined with Nick Bolton’s inconsistency in coverage can leave a gap that good offenses will exploit.
DeAndre Hopkins and Hollywood Brown
OK, technically these are two people, not one. But it’s an absolute necessity to list both of these guys, and they come as a pair when we think about what the offense needs this postseason.