This young Chiefs linebacker factors heavily into their future despite uneven 2020
The Chiefs’ linebackers corps was poised to receive an infusion of new blood with the organization’s second-round pick of Willie Gay in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Without a true offseason to learn the Chiefs’ scheme, however, the rookie’s playing time on defense was sporadic.
As the Chiefs turn their attention to the business side of football before the start of the NFL’s new calendar year and free agency on March 17, we’re evaluating each of the team’s position groups.
The Star previously looked at the offensive line, defensive line and tight ends; here’s our evaluation of the Chiefs’ linebackers.
2020 FINAL ROSTER: Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, Ben Niemann, Dorian O’Daniel, Darius Harris
INJURED RESERVE: Willie Gay Jr. (knee, ankle), Emmanuel Smith (hamstring/Week 15)
2021 FREE AGENTS: Wilson, Niemann (restricted)
POSITION REVIEW
Before suffering a high-ankle sprain in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale, Gay played 267 defensive snaps (25 percent) and 241 snaps (55 percent) on special teams.
Even in such limited duty, Gay flashed speed and play-making ability. He finished with 39 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and three passes defensed.
Hitchens, the leader of the position group and “the glue” of the defense, provided steady play in 14 starts before missing the final two regular-season contests on the COVID-19 list. He finished with 78 tackles, second-most on the Chiefs’ defense, four quarterback hits and a pass defensed on 601 defensive snaps.
Wilson produced 73 tackles, the third-most on the team, on 528 defensive snaps (49 percent) in a contract year. He missed three games from Weeks 14-16 with a knee injury.
With Gay still learning the ropes of the pro game and Chiefs’ defensive scheme, Niemann opened the season as a starter alongside Hitchens and Wilson, and finished the regular season having appeared in 15 games with five starts.
Niemann produced 44 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and three quarterback hits in 466 defensive snaps (43 percent). The Chiefs also utilized Niemann on special teams, where he played on 247 snaps (56 percent).
O’Daniel continued to factor in on special teams, where he logged 219 total snaps compared to nine defensive snaps in 11 games before landing on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He returned in time for the postseason.
Because of the late-season absences of Hitchens, Wilson and O’Daniel, the Chiefs got a good look at Harris, Smith and Omari Cobb, all of whom spent time on the practice squad. Smith, however, landed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 15, his only appearance of the season.
Harris appeared in four games, including two starts in Weeks 16-17, and produced 14 tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass defensed.
Cobb was elevated in Week 16 to the active roster and totaled 10 defensive snaps before returning to the practice squad.
LOOKING AHEAD
With the league-wide salary cap minimum set at $180 million for 2021, the Chiefs currently project to be up to $20 million over the cap. Their financial creativity, which should include restructuring some current contracts, remains at a premium.
Hitchens, who turns 29 on June 10, will earn a base salary of $5.8 million in 2021 and is signed through the 2022 season. The veteran linebacker enters 2021 with a $10.6 million cap hit, the eighth-highest on the Chiefs’ roster.
Niemann is a restricted free agent and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Chiefs made him a qualifying tender offer to keep him in Kansas City. He’s not flashy, but he has proved his worth as a capable backup and special team contributor.
Even with Hitchens and potentially Niemann in the fold, Gay is the future of the team’s linebackers unit. And he has the offseason to not only get healthy but fully grasp the system here.
The Chiefs need Gay to take the next step in his second professional season and seize a spot in their starting rotation. He has the skill-set to be an every-down linebacker in the NFL and the speed required to succeed in coverage.
O’Daniel is entering the final year of his contract, which pays him a base salary of $920,000, while Harris is signed through 2021.
The Chiefs signed Smith and Cobb to reserve/future deals.
ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK?
The Chiefs exercised a team option on Wilson in 2020 and he earned a base salary of $3.2 million last season.
Re-signing Wilson, who turns 28 on May 28, makes sense given the lack of starting experience behind Hitchens. But any contract for him would need to be a team-friendly deal given the Chiefs’ current cap situation.
If the Chiefs can’t get something worked out with Wilson, they still have the 2021 NFL Draft to add youth to this position group.
This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
