Kansas City Chiefs rookie LB Jeffrey Bassa’s biggest passion for football takes place off the field
Jeffrey Bassa is a film junkie.
Jeffrey Bassa may be the Chiefs’ 2025 draft pick that contributes the least to his unit as a rookie.
That’s not an indictment on his talent, but rather a tribute to Kansas City’s starting linebacker corps of Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, and Leo Chenal. Bassa will get his feet wet a bit on defense this season, but his main role will likely be on special teams.
However, if he shows promise in the limited action he gets on defense, he could become a starter in 2026 as Tranquill and Chenal are entering the final year of their contracts. Bassa has the athletic traits to make an impact in the NFL, but his passion for watching film could be what gives him an edge. He discussed that with the media following Day 12 of Chiefs training camp on Tuesday.
“That’s always been the case since college,” Bassa said about being a film junkie. “When I first started playing football my freshman year of high school, I always was intrigued into watching. I’d go to YouTube and type in NFL film breakdowns, or college film breakdowns, or people just talking about [film]. It’s really complex, but little things like that are where I really got that itch for watching film and breaking down tape.
“Then in college, when I got to the full point where I knew the defense like the back of my hand, now I’m studying offenses,” Bassa continued. “What’s the quarterback’s read on this concept, or what’s the running back’s tracks on this type of run? Now that’s something that I’m trying to do on the at the professional level. Now I’m just really trying to dial in on the full defense and know it like the back of my hand. Then[translate that to] offense, and I’ll be heading into the season knowing what the offense is going to do, who we’re playing that week specifically.”
A desire to watch a ton of film is not a trait that every player has, especially not young ones. By the time Bassa is ready to compete for a starting role, he’ll have a ton of knowledge about NFL schematics and tendencies. That will also help him thrive on special teams, where he is already excelling according to Chiefs ST coordinator Dave Toub.
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