Former 1st-round pick Danny Shelton has bounced around NFL. Can he stick with Chiefs?
Defensive tackle Danny Shelton had choices during his free agency over the summer
He said Tuesday that the Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, and, of course, the Kansas City Chiefs, were in pursuit of his services.
But the decision was easy when one call arrived last week.
“When I heard that the Chiefs wanted me, it was between the Jags and Chiefs and I had to go with the Chiefs,” Shelton said. “I’m just excited for this opportunity, excited to be here with the guys and try to catch up with them and contribute to everybody’s goal.”
The 6-foot-2, 345-pound Shelton’s signing became official Monday, and he practiced the past two days in a limited fashion as part of his acclimation process. Kansas City will allow Shelton to become familiar with the defensive scheme and get in football mode, but there’s no doubt he brings plenty of game experience.
Shelton, who turns 29 on Aug. 20, joins his fifth NFL team since entering the league in 2015 as a first-round pick (12th overall) with the Cleveland Browns, where he spent three seasons (2015-17) before being traded to the New England Patriots in March 2018.
He then spent two seasons with the Patriots (2018-19) and was a member of New England’s Super Bowl-winning team before playing for the Detroit Lions (2020) and the New York Giants (2021).
In his career, the Chiefs’ newest defensive lineman has appeared in 100 games with 72 starts, totaling 278 tackles, six sacks and 19 quarterback hits.
“He’s a big body that’s a good athlete,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Monday. “He’s had a lot of good downs in this league. He was out there and (General Manager) Brett (Veach) wanted to add a little bit more in there, so he brought him in. It’s a good addition.”
Still, Shelton hasn’t found a long-term home despite his lofty draft status and proven production, and he attributes it to his fit in previous schemes.
“I’d say it really comes down to coaching style and what they want in their defense,” he said. “Me, I’m a bigger d-lineman, so a lot of guys see me as the run-(stop) guy and a lot of defenses now have been more like pass rushers.”
Shelton, who said he’s always admired Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, hopes he can do enough to stick in Kansas City into the future.
“I’m honestly just going to be here and ready to play wherever they need me and stay on my toes,” Shelton said.
The Chiefs still need to figure out how to work in Shelton in the defensive line rotation alongside defensive tackles Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi, Khalen Saunders and Taylor Stallworth.
But like Shelton had choices on where to sign, the Chiefs defensive coordinator has options on the timing when to get the defensive tackle more repetitions.
“I like him,” Spagnuolo said. “I like the personality and how excited he is about being here. We’ll see what happens. I mean, we got a little ways to go. They have that acclimation period, so he hasn’t really done much from the standpoint of being out there against the offense. But we’ll see where time takes us.”
That works just fine for Shelton, who has already made an impression in just two practices.
“I’m here trying to soak up everything, add a little knowledge to the younger guys, too, so I’m here helping out as much as I can,” he said. “But it feels great to be welcomed by these guys.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2022 at 1:57 PM.
