The Kansas City Chiefs underwent some substantial losses on the defensive side of the ball during the 2026 NFL offseason. Between Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook, Charles Omenihu, and Leo Chenal’s departures, the team lost nearly 3,500 defensive snaps. As the second group of the Chiefs’ OTAs kicks off on Monday, the coaching staff will continue to look for ways to offset those losses.

One of the biggest holes left unaddressed in the 2026 NFL Draft or via free agency comes at the linebacker position. Kansas City’s only new addition came in undrafted free agency, with the team signing Miami LB Wesley Bissainthe. How will the Chiefs go about replacing LB Leo Chenal in 2026? Veteran LB Drue Tranquill weighed in on the topic last Thursday.

Chiefs LB Drue Tranquill believes Leo Chenal is an irreplaceable talent

Asked about the unique talent that was Leo Chenal and how to replace it, Drue Tranquill had a blunt response for Chiefs media members. The reality is that the former 2022 NFL Draft pick will be extremely hard for Steve Spagnuolo to replace. Tranquill believes him to be irreplaceable.

“I don’t know that you can replace Leo (Chenal),” Tranquill said. “I think he’s kind of one of one in what he can do. if you just throw on the tape, I mean, you can see all the different positions he lined up at for us, but they do a really good job here of kind of creating competition, and so obviously that SAM (Linebacker) role is kind of up for grabs, and we got a lot of guys in our room competing hard for it, and they’ll do some, some creative things, but you know, he’s a, he’s a great player in Washington is definitely lucky to have him.”

Chenal did everything from blocking kicks on special teams to rushing the passer off the edge in Kansas City. His skill set is not one that you can simply replace with a single player. It’s likely going to take a village to replace him and the things he did for the team. Different players will likely fill in for each of his unique roles throughout the defense and special teams.

The Chiefs’ young players are stepping up and competing hard in Chenal’s absence

Who are some of the young players who might be stepping up to fill the vacant SAM linebacker role and other spots for the Chiefs? Tranquill gave an overview of Week 1 of OTAs and how several guys have impressed so far.

“Jack’s (Cochrane) had an incredible start,” Tranquill said. “I think he had an interception yesterday (and) made some nice plays. Cooper (McDonald) as well – Jeff (Bassa). You see these guys going from rookie year to second year, and I can resonate a little bit with what they’re feeling. This scheme is a lot at first. It’s like drinking out of a fire hose. You can see the calmness in their progression from year one to year two, so there’s a lot of young energy in that room, and so it’ll be a competitive few weeks here.”

The overall hope seems to be that the unique blend of veterans and second-year talent should help offset the loss of Chenal. No single player will replace everything Chenal did for the team, but the collective effort should help. They’ve got veterans like Cochrane and Christiansen, as well as young talent like McDonald and Bassa. The combination should lead to good competition, as Tranquill says. Yet, it’s hard not to wonder whether this position group couldn’t make an addition in the not-so-distant future.