Chiefs: PFF names Drue Tranquill as one of the underrated signings in FA
The Kansas City Chiefs have made several moves this offseason, all of which have made the position group better, in my opinion. They have made the defense better than what it was last season, on paper at least, and the offense is slowly coming along as well. But, the Chiefs made one signing that fans […]
The Kansas City Chiefs have made several moves this offseason, all of which have made the position group better, in my opinion. They have made the defense better than what it was last season, on paper at least, and the offense is slowly coming along as well.
But, the Chiefs made one signing that fans seemed to question at first, but in reality, it was one of the better ones around the league. They signed former division rival and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Drue Tranquill, who was the best at his position on the Chargers.
As we said earlier, many Chiefs fans weren't high on the move, but Pro Football Focus thinks it's one of the more underrated moves in all of free agency.
Many league personnel was high on Tranquill’s prospects in this year’s free agency, with both AFC and NFC sources mentioning him as a player they thought could do better than expected. Despite a limited sample size as a starter, it’s not hard to see why. Tranquill’s 76.7 coverage grade ranked 11th among off-ball linebackers in 2022, and he should continue to get better at identifying offenses with more reps as a full-time starter. The most fun utilization of Tranquill in Kansas City could be how defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo brings him on the occasional blitz. Tranquill’s 23.3% pressure rate over the past two seasons ranks fourth among off-ball linebackers and his 21.1% pass-rush win rate ranks first, meaning it’s not all just unblocked pressures and clean-up work after teammates chased quarterbacks into him. He has legitimate pass-rush chops on three to four such snaps a game. Kansas City now has four quality off-ball linebackers, which makes this an interesting fit, but as awesome as Nick Bolton is on early downs, perhaps skipping the occasional obvious passing situation would benefit the defense.
A lot of fans don't like this move because of who the Chiefs already have as a linebacker. Some fans don't think it makes much sense to go and get another great linebacker. You have Nick Bolton, who is the green dot, and you have Willie Gay, who was the Chiefs' best coverage linebacker last season.
Some fans think the Chiefs signed Tranquill just to not play him. But, I think it's the exact opposite. I think the Chiefs wouldn't make Tranquill the highest-paid linebacker on the team just to not play him. I think we will see him play the role Gay plays right now, which is the Will linebacker.
That doesn't mean Gay won't play, but I think Tranquill will be the main guy getting snaps. Now, I could be wrong, as I'm not Steve Spagnuolo, and he will know what he wants to do when the regular season gets closer to starting.
But, it's an underrated signing nonetheless.
