New Faces, Old Opponents: Kansas City Chiefs

The last time these two teams met was Week 2 of last season. The Texans came out on top 19-12 in a rematch of the 30-0 blowout in the AFC Wild Card game the year before. These two teams both are hot coming into the fifth game of the 2017 season. The Chiefs have yet to lose a game, performing even better than last year with newly acquired talent Kareem Hunt and others. They pose an extremely difficult challenge for the Houston Texans, who are coming off a dominating 57-14 win over the Tennessee Titans last week. The Chiefs have relied on veteran defensive players to become a quality team the past couple years, but the additions they made this offseason have propelled them to the top of the NFL

Through The NFL Draft

The Chiefs’ first two draft picks this past year fall into the “developmental prospect” pile, with their raw talents needing to be refined. The Chiefs traded up to acquire QB Patrick Mahomes from Texas Tech in the first round. This move inadvertently caused the Texans to rise to the occasion and subsequently move up in the draft to select Deshaun Watson. Kansas City’s second round pick, OLB/DE Tanoh Kpassagnon, which might be the best name I have ever heard, has been waiting behind Dee Ford for the entire season. We will probably not see these two athletes play tomorrow. The Chiefs’ third round draft pick, however, we will definitely see.

Kareem Hunt.

He played for the Toledo Rockets in college, which has a fitting title for a young running back who has scorched the league in his first four games. Both Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis left the Chiefs in the offseason that left Hunt an immediate role to fill. The kid has 140 more rushing yards than the next closest RB and has two touchdowns of 50+ yards. Once Hunt gets to the second level, his pure speed is hard to stop. He has put on absolute clinics Week One against the Patriots. He ran a seam route out of the backfield to burn the entire Pats’ secondary in one hot flash. His pass catching ability and willingness to block have made him a potential Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate early in the season. If the Texans want to stop him, they must meet him at the point of attack, never let him get to full speed, and stay over the top on coverage.

Jehu Cheeson (man, the Chiefs love their funky names) is a WR from Michigan who has not caught a ball this season and should not be a factor during tomorrow night’s game. Cheeson does not have a reception on the season but he could make his biggest impact on this game in the special teams. The Chiefs also drafted LB Ukeme Eligwe, out of Georgia Southern, who has one tackle on the season and S Leon McQuay III from USC.

The Chiefs’ draft production from their 2017 class starts and ends with Hunt. His undeniable talent and vision can cause the Texans many problems throughout the game. The Chiefs love to move him around the field to create mismatches on either slow linebackers or deeper safeties.

Through Free Agency

Bennie Logan was KC’s main free agent pick up this past offseason. With the departure of Dontari Poe, Logan was brought on to fill in the NT position from Philadelphia. In the 3-4 defense that the Chiefs run, nose tackle is one of the most critical on the field. They do not shift as much as the Texans do in their 3-4, so Logan’s ability to dominate the A-gaps is imperative to their defensive success. This season Bennie Logan has racked up 13 tackles and a sack. He will be lined up against C Nick Martin for the entirety of the game.

This is a bit shorter of an article because the Chiefs did not add much through the free agent market and only really have one draft pick in Kareem Hunt who has shown immediate promise. The Chiefs also added Marqueston Huff, but he is now with Tampa Bay. I will be making this a weekly article, so be on the lookout for more to come!