Three shrewd free-agent signings are helping Chiefs’ defense rank among NFL’s best
Perhaps nothing better explains how the Chiefs morphed from the 16th-best defense in the NFL last season to the second-most miserly than continuity — and the synchronicity that comes with that, especially considering defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s vast and intricate scheming.
Now in his second season in Kansas City, safety Justin Reid aptly summarized the broader dynamics a few weeks back when he said, “I feel like an entirely different player. I feel like I’m playing fast and free; I’m not out there thinking.”
But something else substantially bolstered this group, too: a trio of overshadowed free-agent bargains.
While the Chiefs’ most costly offseason maneuver was signing penalty-prone right tackle Jawaan Taylor to a four-year, $80-million deal and their most conspicuous move was not spending more to enhance the receiving bunch, their most astute strategy fortified the side of the ball that has evolved into their best chance to become the first NFL team to repeat as champion in nearly 20 years.
So however you might feel about those other decisions, part of the offense’s tumble from leading the league in scoring last season to 15th currently, these choices also became part of their most reliable force toward winning Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round game in Buffalo.
“Hat goes off to (general manager) Brett (Veach) for the job that he did bringing those guys in here,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “His insight was spot-on.”
The members of this three-player group — safety Mike Edwards, defensive lineman Charles Omenihu and linebacker Drue Tranquill — generated essential depth and versatility, as well as telling highlights for a unit whose latest jewel was muzzling Miami 26-7 in the AFC Wild Card Round.
When I asked Spagnuolo on Thursday about what that trio has meant to the team, he said this “just kind of pops in my mind … That’s one at each level (meaning the line, linebacking and defensive backfield). You know, if you could bank on doing that every year in free agency, wouldn’t that make a huge difference?”
Certainly, it has in this season alone.
Particularly as the Chiefs sought to reinforce their linebacking corps and replenish the only two starting positions where they’d lost players: safety Juan Thornhill, who left for a three-year, $21 million deal with Cleveland, and defensive lineman Frank Clark, who took a one-year, $7.5 million deal with Denver only to be released by the Broncos and later cut by Seattle.
So they signed Edwards, 27, the former Tampa Bay Buc, and Tranquill, 28, previously with the Chargers, each to one-year, $3 million contracts. And Omenihu, 26 and most recently with the 49ers, to a two-year, $16 million pact.
“They … brought me in to add more to the fire,” Omenihu said after he had a sack and deflected a pass into an interception in his Chiefs’ debut following his season-opening six-game suspension.
He could have been speaking of any of the three when he said that. As well as in the way he described the feeling of sitting out while “trying to be a piece to a puzzle that’s already been put together quite nicely.”
Quite nicely, sure. But it wasn’t completed before they joined the team and filled gaps in more ways than one — including with a certain glue factor.
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Maybe nothing symbolized that better than Edwards as the pivot man in one of the most crucial and captivating plays of the season: his lateral to Bryan Cook for a touchdown after Trent McDuffie jarred the ball loose from Tyreek Hill in a Week 9 game against the Dolphins in Germany.
As if that weren’t enough presence of mind, Edwards instantly turned upfield to lead the blocking for what became a 59-yard touchdown in a key 21-14 victory.
“You’re going to look at him and you’re not going to say that he’s the fastest guy, the biggest guy, strongest guy or any of that,” Andy Reid said. “He just knows how to play the game. He’s got great instincts. Smart, smart kid. Tough.”
His role would increase dramatically after Cook was lost for the season with an injury on Dec. 3 in Green Bay. And the need for Tranquill was amplified by Nick Bolton missing nine games with injuries.
Speaking specifically of Edwards and Tranquill because of their roles in alignments and signal-calling, Spagnuolo said, “We didn’t have to back off (on) anything” in terms of schemes and even chemistry.
“What they did stepping in, I think, speaks volumes to how important they’ve been,” Spagnuolo said.
So do a few basic facts of their seasons:
Tranquill is tied for third on the team in tackles with 78, tied for third in tackles for loss with seven and has more sacks (4.5) than any non-lineman. But his greatest contribution may be what Patrick Mahomes alluded to back in training camp.
“I hated playing against him (with the Chargers) because he’s one of those linebackers who’s, like, calling out what you’re saying at the line of scrimmage. He studies that much,” Mahomes said. “So I’ve already had to make up all brand-new code words because I can hear him on the other side.”
Alleviating attention on Chris Jones and George Karlaftis, who each had 10.5 sacks, Omenihu in 11 regular-season games had seven sacks and two forced fumbles — including the one that produced Edwards’ 97-yard touchdown return in a 13-12 victory at the L.A. Chargers in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale.
While the play was enabled by what amounted to a carom pass to Edwards via Omenihu’s sack of Chargers quarterback Easton Stick, it also reflected Edwards’ knack for the big moment: It was his fourth career touchdown, atop three interception returns for Tampa Bay.
Accordingly, Edwards generated another turnover on Saturday against the Dolphins with an interception. That was his third in a postseason career that also included swatting a Mahomes pass intended for Tyreek Hill into an interception during Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV victory over the Chiefs.
Now he’s part of a trifecta that came here aiming to do the same for the Chiefs — three players who are making it all the more a possibility as part of a defensive awakening that may turn out to be the signature of the season.
This story was originally published January 19, 2024 at 5:30 AM.