Third year’s been charming as Tanoh Kpassagnon continues to develop in Chiefs’ defense
During the 2017 pre-draft process, the label most analysts associated with Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon was “raw.”
Kpassagnon was coming off a 2016 season at Villanova in which he’d totaled 45 tackles, 11 sacks, three quarterback hits, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and a blocked kick. That impressive production earned him first-team FCS All-America honors from The Associated Press and the Colonial Athletic Association’s Defensive Player of the Year award .
Lofty stuff to close out a collegiate career, for sure, but most draft observers still projected him as a likely middle-round pick.
The Chiefs ignored those talking heads and used a second-round selection (No. 59 overall) on the Wildcats’’ athletic pass rusher. Three seasons later, they’re happy with what they have in Kpassagnon, who can play a variety of positions in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 base scheme.
“We actually ask him to do a number of things, which is a credit to him and a compliment to him that you have him playing multiple positions,” Spagnuolo said Thursday. “He’s inside, he’s outside — we ask him to cover different things. So I think he’s progressing very well. I enjoy working with him.”
The trust the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator has in Kpassagnon is evident in his stats. Entering Week 15, Kpassagnon has logged 563 defensive snaps, a significant spike from 2018 (115) and 2017 (159).
The 6-foot-7, 289-pound Kpassagnon has appeared in 42 games with six starts over the past three seasons after starting his NFL career in Kansas City as an outside linebacker in former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s base 3-4 scheme.
He had to learn to play linebacker in his rookie season after playing defensive end in college, but now Kpassagnon is back to his natural position. He said he used the past two seasons as part of the educational process in his development.
“I’ve learned some different positions inside and outside of the line doing a bunch of things, so I feel like it’s been overall a football learning process,” Kpassagnon said. “I’ve learned so much more about the game in general.”
The knowledge he’s absorbed has benefited the Chiefs’ defensive line rotation. And it’s possible even better things are on the horizon.
Already this fall, Kpassagnon has established career highs in numerous areas, including starts (5), sacks (4) and quarterback hits (9), to go along with 26 tackles, a pass defensed and a forced fumble with three games to go.
His production has softened the blow for a Chiefs defense that’s lost defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah for the season (torn pectoral in Week 10) and started the season without defensive end Breeland Speaks.
Kpassagnon, a self-proclaimed film junkie, credits his continued growth to film-study of guys like Chicago’s Khalil Mack and the Rams’ Aaron Donald. He said watching other pass-rushers around the league has helped him hone his own craft.
He incorporated boxing and martial arts into his offseason training to improve his hands in close quarters. That’s helped him improve the chop-rip and stab-club moves defensive ends often utilize when engaging offensive linemen.
“I’ve heard guys do judo and a lot of hand-to-hand combat techniques,” Kpassagnon said, “so it’s something I’ll definitely incorporate more in my offseason.”
The third-year pro also praises defensive line teammates Frank Clark, Alex Okafor and Xavier Williams for aiding his development. Okafor appreciates Kpassagnon’s willingness to take advice, especially when it comes to his 35 5/8-inch arm length.
“He’s a freakish athlete, freakish stature, and he has the longest arms I’ve seen on anybody,” Okafor said. “We just try to coach him up and get him to be more mindful of using his length when he plays. Also, whenever I see some tips on film, I try to point that out to him so he’s more aware during the games.”
It’s pretty clear Kpassagnon has listened to Okafor and others when it comes to leveraging his length — especially on special teams, where he has blocked a kick in two straight weeks by splitting the space between the tackle and tight end.
Count Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub among the impressed.
“Let alone to get one (block) is hard, but he got in a little groove with his little swim technique in that C-gap,” Toub said. “The NFL figures things out quick, though, so I’m sure we’re not going to catch anybody by surprise going forward. But that’s a heck of an effort by him the last two weeks.”
Whether blockers finally figure out how to keep Kpassagnon out of the backfield on special teams or defense remains to be seen.
But the development of this football player once considered “raw” has mostly exceeded expectations.
“I think it’s gone well,” Kpassagnon said.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 4:40 PM.
