Kansas City Chiefs remake defense with talent, new attitude

The Kansas City Chiefs are going to look much different defensively in 2019. Just ask Frank Clark.

Clark, who was acquired by Kansas City through a trade with the Seattle Seahawks (Seattle netted a 2019 first and 2020 second-round pick as compensation), talked about what the new-look Chiefs defense will be all about this upcoming season. He didn’t mince words, per James Palmer of NFL Network.

“There’s a lot of smack talk going on. I just feel like you got to have a whole lot of swag. A different mentality and you got to let your nuts hang a little bit honestly.”

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Last year, it’s safe to say Kansas City’s defense had far less swagger. While the unit led the NFL with 52 sacks, the rest of the numbers were downright horrific. No team in NFL history allowed more first downs than the 2018 Chiefs, and the yardage against ranked 31st. Only the Cincinnati Bengals were worse. In fact, Kansas City lost four regular-season games and then the AFC Championship Game. In those contests, the Chiefs scored an average of 36.2 points per game. Yes, those were the defeats. Kansas City’s lowest total in those affairs? 28 points.

With those ugly stats as a backdrop, general manager Brett Veach went to work changing everything. In January, defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was fired and replaced by Steve Spagnuolo, won helped engineer one of the greatest Super Bowl upsets in history with the New York Giants upending the unbeaten New England Patriots. Spagnuolo brings in a more aggressive style of defense, and also the base 4-3.

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Having played Sutton’s 3-4 since 2013, the personnel was dramatically overhauled. Outside linebackers Dee Ford and Justin Houston were moved via trade and release, respectively. In hope of replacing those 22 sacks, Veach acquired the aforementioned Clark and then signed Alex Okafor and traded for Emmanuel Ogbah. All three play defensive end, with Clark being the one constant for all three downs. Kansas City also revamped the secondary, signing safety Tyrann Mathieu and selecting free safety Juan Thornhill in the second round. At corner, Steven Nelson was effectively swapped out for Bashaud Breeland.

In a few months, we’ll see how effective Veach’s moves prove to be. On paper, it appears the Chiefs will have a significantly improved defense that will help and not hurt their championship chances.

One thing is certain, though: Kansas City will have no shortage of swagger on both sides of the ball.