Are We Seeing The Best Work Of Steve Spagnuolo This Year?

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2022 was the fourth season for Steve Spagnuolo as Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator. By no means, was this year a perfect campaign for him. There were some hiccups, here and there. But at the same time, Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense helped save Kansas City from dropping some tight games. Overall, you could argue that this season’s results were some of the best work that we have seen Steve Spagnuolo do as Chiefs defensive coordinator.

As we will mention later, the veteran coach helped rebuild the defense with his own visions. That has resulted in early strides from future Kansas City stars. Meanwhile, certain areas of the unit drastically improved their production in crucial areas, compared to the last couple of years.

How has Steve Spagnuolo constructed one of his best seasons as defensive coordinator? Plus, what will he have to do in Super Bowl LVII to secure another championship victory for Kansas City? Let’s kick it off.

Rebuilding The Defense: Part II

The Chiefs underwent a massive defensive rebuild entering 2019, Steve Spagnuolo’s first season as Kansas City defensive coordinator. That resulted in winning Super Bowl LIV with leadership and performances from many newcomers. This included Tyrann Mathieu, Bashaud Breeland, Alex Okafor and Damien Wilson in free agency. Kansas City also traded for Frank Clark, while drafting Juan Thornhill and Rashad Fenton. Later on, the Chiefs also added veterans like Terrell Suggs and Mike Pennel, who were critical to the playoff run. These changes installed a new attitude in the Chiefs defense. All in all, this group truly hit their stride from November through the Super Bowl win.

Fast forward three years, and the Chiefs were forced to rebuild the defense under Spagnuolo, once again. This time, Kansas City opted to go much younger with their defensive nucleus. Names like Mathieu, Okafor, Charvarius Ward, Melvin Ingram and Jarran Reed were not re-signed from the previous season. Anthony Hitchens‘ release was fairly inevitable. Carlos Dunlap was a pure veteran signing. Yet, most of the other defensive free agent signings were still younger players. This included Justin Reid, Deon Bush and Taylor Stallworth.

Though, it was the 2022 NFL Draft where the Chiefs truly rebuilt the defensive core. Seven of the 10 draft selections were defensive players. Five of those seven defenders were defensive backs. Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams have seen the most playing time among the defensive backs. George Karlaftis enjoyed a pleasant rookie campaign. Mainly, Steve Spagnuolo helped rebuild the 2022 defense with players that he largely pounded the table for.

Early Return On Investments

For the most part, the Chiefs have seen a positive early return on their new investments on defense. That is difficult to achieve for rookie defenders entering the league. But for the aforementioned Karlaftis, McDuffie, Watson and Williams, they all enjoyed substantial stretches of stellar play in 2022. For instance, Karlaftis has seven sacks, including one in the playoffs. His 48 pressures were second-most among rookies, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson.

As you shift to the secondary, Steve Spagnuolo has long been searching for shutdown cornerbacks in Kansas City. He may have just found his top man in McDuffie. While the Washington product did miss part of the first two months due to injury, he was airtight in coverage in seemingly every game he was active for. In fact, McDuffie has only allowed a passer rating around 80 all season long when targeted, while also allowing only 53 percent of passes to be completed against him.

In addition, Watson and Williams have each provided game-changing plays, when necessary. Watson had an interception in both playoff games, while adding a pick-six in a home victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Williams has grown in man coverage, one-on-one, as the season continues to get deeper. He also added an interception against the San Franisco 49ers and another in the AFC Championship Game. Simply put, Steve Spagnuolo finally has quality depth at cornerback.

Letting Loose

Thanks to those rare results from rookies, Steve Spagnuolo has been able to let loose in 2022, so to speak. He has been more willing to let some defenders handle multiple responsibilities. On the other hand, Spagnuolo does not seem to be limiting many defenders in what he asks of them, week in and week out. In the past, you would see Spagnuolo limit some defenders to only playing in certain, distinct situations and capping them at that. He has been more open to letting different defenders step into different roles, however.

We also know that Steve Spagnuolo loves to play an aggressive style of defense. You see that in how he designs blitzes. You see that in the primary coverage that the secondary plays, which is usually some form of man coverage. Furthermore, you see Steve Spagnuolo often sell out to stop one area of an opponent’s offense, especially on the biggest of stages. We saw him do just that against the Cincinnati Bengals’ passing attack last week. By letting his guard down, to a degree, Steve Spagnuolo has helped instill increased confidence and comfort for this newly designed Kansas City Chiefs defense.

Turn It Up A Notch

So, what will Steve Spagnuolo have to do in Super Bowl LVII, in order to secure his second championship victory with the Chiefs? If you look at the designs of Kansas City’s defense in this year’s playoff games, it would not be surprising to see those items turned up a notch. The Chiefs have been very deceptive with their pressure packages, to start things off.

Steve Spagnuolo has allowed his pass rushers to rush with overload blitzes, with zone blitzes and with occasional stunts or twists. This has been unlimited to any Kansas City defender, to boot. Chris Jones has been a monster, while getting to move around the formation. Dunlap, Clark and Karlaftis have been able to stunt and twist once in a while. Elsewhere, defenders from the back seven are getting chances to go all out and blitz while coming downhill.

In coverage, you still see Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs prioritize man coverage. They have been adding fresh wrinkles with different defensive backs, however. McDuffie, Reid and L’Jarius Sneed have all been able to move around and play the slot and outside, or on the roof in Reid’s case. You are also seeing Kansas City mix and pass off certain routes in the playoffs, something they did not always show all season. Steve Spagnuolo could look to stay aggressive in coverage, especially with one-on-one situations.

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.