Rookie Emergence Increasing Chiefs’ Chances At Super Bowl

Embed from Getty Images
During Brett Veach‘s tenure as Kansas City Chiefs general manager, his drafts have usually been reminiscent of each other. That would include him finding tremendous value picks in the middle to late rounds. At the same time, Kansas City just never seemed to hit on their first draft pick from each class. Items like underperformance, injuries and just not fitting into the system all contributed to disappointments from the opening picks of prior Chiefs rookie draft classes.

Yet, the early returns on the entire 2022 Kansas City rookie draft class have the makings of being a game changer for this franchise. Throughout the offseason, the Chiefs opted to get younger, while also retooling their defense and wide receiver room. Kansas City made their most draft selections during the Veach tenure this offseason, to boot. In some way, shape or form, nearly all of the 2022 rookies have made an impact and reshaped the offensive or defensive attack of the Chiefs.

Finding production or clear consistency from rookies is certainly not easy. However, the Chiefs have not only seen a great number of rookies shine in 2022. Kansas City is also seeing those first-year players hit their groove at the most important time of the season. With that dynamic becoming more and more apparent entering the postseason, the Chiefs’ chances of winning or reaching the Super Bowl are simply growing. Let’s kick it off.

Defensive Cornerstones

As mentioned above, the Chiefs had been able to find contributors from their mid-to-late round selections. The early returns on this year’s first-round picks could easily be the most impact that Kansas City has received from early round selections, though. The duo of Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis have been both efficient and dominant for seemingly the last five or six games.

Karlaftis has been providing significant pressure against opposing quarterbacks all season long. Yet, he has registered five sacks, six tackles for loss and five quarterback hits in his last six games. That is compared to just 0.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and five quarterback hits in his first 10 games.

Meanwhile, McDuffie has been locking down opposing pass catchers since returning from injury in Week 9. He has only allowed 47.7 percent of passes to be completed against him in coverage this season. Moreover, McDuffie has only averaged 4.4 yards allowed per target on the few catches that he has allowed. What makes the Washington product more dangerous against opposing offenses, is that he is just as impressive outside of his pass coverage. McDuffie has been a key addition in run support and has made crucial tackles in the open field. Additionally, his body positioning and patience has forced throws to go to the opposite side of the field, garnering plenty of respect from opposing quarterbacks. McDuffie, like Karlaftis, has been strong all season. But, it is the budding confidence and stops on vital downs that shows up the most from this pair of rookie defenders.

Missing Links

Outside of those two, the Chiefs made five other rookie draft selections on the defensive side of the ball. Some of these players have seen a lack of clear chances defensively, instead making their money on special teams. This includes the trio of Bryan Cook, Leo Chenal and Nazeeh Johnson. Certainly, Cook and Chenal have been fine in limited defensive snaps. It is important for them to contribute on Kansas City’s shaky special teams units, however. All of Cook, Chenal and Johnson offer necessary instincts to produce in those spots.

On the other hand, this rookie trio has the makeup to be contributors in other dirty areas in the postseason. Kansas City knows just how physical and tenacious that Cook and Chenal can be. Each of them can offer a sense of versatility, whether that be in coverage or when playing the run.

Elsewhere, the pair of rookie day three cornerbacks offer the Chiefs traits that are simply unteachable. Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams have each endured their fair share of ups and downs in 2022. Nevertheless, these two can play a defensive style that was completely nonexistent for Kansas City in the last couple postseason runs. The Chiefs had not been able to lean on appropriate length, density and size from past cornerbacks. But for Watson and Williams, they are perfect scheme fits for the press man coverage that this team loves to play. These five rookie defenders may not be elite in any area. Though, they all provide aspects that were missing from recent Chiefs defenses during the playoffs.

Thunder And Lightning

Embed from Getty Images
Now moving to the offensive side of the ball, the Chiefs have found yet another late-round gem in running back Isiah Pacheco. Pacheco already has 766 rushing yards on just 162 rushes (4.7 yards per attempt). Keep in mind, he truly did not receive starting reps until Week 10. His late season run has displayed his unique mix of power, change of direction skills and short area burst. Pacheco can seemingly win when running in between the tackles, when bouncing it outside and occasionally will slice up defenses as a pass catcher in the screen pass game.

The Chiefs have used many different running backs in the Patrick Mahomes era. While some of those have enjoyed levels of success, the top draft pick from 2020 has been disappointing for items both in and out of his control. That top draft pick, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, not only had his job taken this season, but possibly for the foreseeable future. Because of Pacheco’s running style and improving feel for blocks, the Chiefs can lean on him to exude a new pace in the Kansas City offense during the playoffs.

Finally, the electric play of Skyy Moore is starting to show up more often at wide receiver. His route running and separation are top traits that the Chiefs can lean on during the postseason. Despite not seeing him tap into those attributes too often yet, Moore can create headaches immediately with the ball in his hands. His spatial awareness and ability to make defenders miss is rare for a player without much experience as a pass catcher. For Kansas City, Moore infuses a special jolt into a passing attack that is arguably more extensive than previous playoff runs.

More Multiple Entering Playoffs?

In essence, the group of rookie players are getting more confident and comfortable at the right time. The Chiefs have seen these first-year players bounce back more often than not, if they suffered any struggles in certain contests. On the flip side, Kansas City appears to be more multiple and versatile on both sides of the ball, due to these rookie additions.

What does that ultimately mean for the playoffs? The tricks and tendencies that the Chiefs have clung to in the past have been all but snuffed out by top AFC playoff contenders. With new styles, traits and attributes to lean on from these rookie contributors, the Chiefs are able to tap into new wrinkles and designs on both sides of the ball. Because of the adjustments that Kansas City has made to the team, along with the rookie production, this team could fully round out during this year’s playoffs.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.