Under-the-radar Hitchens a quiet leader for Chiefs defense
It’s easy to miss Anthony Hitchens over the roar of Frank Clark and the flash of Tyrann Mathieu.
But to find how the Chiefs feel about the somewhat soft-spoken Hitchens, look no further than the barricades that line the field and observation tents at training camp.
Most the metal fences around the practice fields at Missouri Western are wrapped with a red mesh Chiefs-themed covering. Some are advertisements, while others are screen printed with the words, ‘This is Chiefs Kingdom’ next to a still image of a player.
Just three players appear on the barriers: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Hitchens.
As most of the chatter around the defense focuses on the big changes led by Steve Spagnuolo, Clark and Mathieu, Hitchens is a steady, under-the-radar presence in the linebacking corps, the kind of leader to his position group that the other two marquee defensive players are to the line and secondary.
Hitchens knows he doesn’t have the same leadership style as other players on his team, but he doesn’t need it.
“I take pride in being a leader,” Hitchens said after Saturday’s practice, the team’s fourth in pads. “I set the defense. I get everybody lined up. I try to lead by example, the right way, on and off the field.
“Everyone leads in different ways. I probably won’t be the one that’s out there yelling, jumping up and down and rah rah-ing. But there’s other ways to lead. Mine is more in the classroom and getting guys right and making sure we perform on Sunday.”
Even though Hitchens hasn’t made any highlight-reel plays this training camp, coach Andy Reid has also appreciated HItchens’ efforts through the first week of practice.
“Hitch brings great energy, every play, every day,” Reid said. “And he’s smart. And so he leads the middle of that defense right there.”
Hitchens has always taken a studious approach to the game. For each of the last three seasons, he’s filled up a new notebook learning a new scheme. He did the same thing a season ago when he was new to the Chiefs and Bob Sutton’s defense. He wound up leading the team with 135 tackles, 81 of them solo. Those numbers set career highs for Hitchens.
But Hitchens wasn’t always consistent in the 3-4 defense last year. He has extensive experience with the 4-3, playing in it in college and for four seasons with the Cowboys — something that should benefit him greatly this season.
A projected starter at middle linebacker, Hitchens is also learning the weakside and strongside spots, too.
Though Hitchens will spend time at all three spots during camp, learning all the positions doesn’t just benefit him.
“You never know where you might end up in the season,” he said. “I’m learning them all, trying to embrace it the best way I can and try to feed all the info that I get to my teammates.”
One of those teammates is free agent Damien Wilson, one of Hitchens’ teammates from his years in Dallas. The two played together for the Cowboys from 2015-17. Together again in Kansas City, Hitchens and Wilson are picking right up where they left off.
“That guy is out here forcing fumbles and interceptions every day,” Hitchens said of Wilson. “He’s a good ball player. He’s going to help us win a lot of games this year and all I have to do here is be a bigger brother and help him out in the scheme and everything.”
Wilson missed Saturday because of a sore knee, but Hitchens was a healthy participant. Maintaining that health amid the physically demanding practices is a priority for Hitchens. When he stepped to the microphone in the interview tent on Saturday, sweat dripped off his beard and his white shirt was soaked through.
It was pretty warm and sunny, but the sweat was more indicative of the higher-energy practices and Hitchens’ own exertion.
“It’s more energy, more running, more plays, it’s just different,” Hitchens said, comparing this year’s training camp to last year’s. “It’s 2019 and our goal is to be great and bring energy to the ball. It’s going to burn a lot of calories and a lot of energy.”