Why the Chiefs ignored a key draft trait to solve their pass rush
The precision of NFL scouting — or its circus, perhaps — amplified a February morning in Indianapolis, when Rueben Bain Jr. stepped to a microphone. He might have spoken for 10 minutes, but his status as an NFL prospect centered on just a single question:
When it comes to arm length, how short is too short?
It became a conundrum involving one of the top-producing players in this NFL Draft. Should the tape alone outweigh the measurable?
The Chiefs passed on the short arms.
Initially.
But it’s still the story of their pass rush prospects: first-rounder tackle Peter Woods (Clemson) and second-round edge R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma).
It’s actually a misconception that the Chiefs only draft tall, stout edge rushers to fit defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system. Felix Anudike-Uzomah wasn’t bulky. Ashton Gillotte isn’t tall. Even George Karlaftis ranked slightly below the 50th percentile of drafted edge rushers in both height and weight.
But Thomas is built unlike any player they’ve drafted since general manager Brett Veach took over nearly nine years ago. He is the lightest edge rusher Veach has selected. He’s the shortest. And one more thing relevant to the point: He has the shortest arms.
Not just him.
Although Woods is the tallest among the five interior lineman Veach has selected, there’s one attribute that ranks in the 5th percentile among drafted interior defensive lineman: arm length.
The Chiefs avoided Bain.
But they didn’t shy away from short arms in this draft.
There’s an interesting explanation for how they grew comfortable with an attribute that often correlates — some, not completely — with NFL success.
“When you’re explosive off the ball, and you can reduce the space between you and an interior offensive lineman or a tackle, it gives you an advantage,” said Ryne Nutt, the Chiefs’ vice president of player personnel.
The justification, in short, is that Woods and Thomas are so quick at the point of the snap — their get-off, as it’s tracked in the data community — that they can negate the full impact of arm length. The hope is they’ve made up the difference — and made contact with the offensive linemen — before arm length controls the battle.
It’s a risk, but it didn’t come as the result of ignoring it. Just the opposite, it’s been contemplated at a deeper level.
And it’s part of the tradeoff for what the Chiefs were really seeking in this draft.
Speed.
To be more precise: immediate speed.
The Chiefs pressured the quarterback on only 33.8% of dropbacks last season, despite being one of only three teams in the league to blitz more than 1/3 of the passing plays, per Next Gen Stats data. They quite evidently needed to address their pass rush in the draft.
But the how is what stands out.
They not only sought pressure, but sought pressure built on quickness at the line of scrimmage. That’s what makes these two prospects different.
The logic and why it matters is probably easy to track, but the data is actually even easier. Here’s a quick list of the fastest defensive linemen off the ball last year, per Next Gen Stats data: Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, Chase Young, Nik Bonitto and Aidan Hutchinson. All five players had double-digit sack seasons.
The get-off matters a lot.
It’s also among the top traits that pop with Woods and Thomas.
“Both play low. They have really good pad leverage,” Nutt said. “They’re really fast off the ball, and they’re explosive.”
Dane Brugler, who produces the all-engrossing draft publication The Beast for The New York Times, used the word “quick” five times in his scouting report for Woods. An “explosive” player, he concludes, though Woods “must improve his consistency at the next level.”
On the edge, Brugler first notes that Thomas is undersized, but is a rusher who “plays fast” and “combines first-step quickness” with his strength.
“We felt like both were extremely disruptive. Both had high motors,” Nutt said. “And both of those kinds of features in a player result to being disruptive at the NFL level.”
And in a different way than they have prioritized in the past.
As mentioned, it’s not that the Chiefs strictly select bulky and lengthy defensive linemen. It’s not as though they avoid speed off the edge or on the inside. Chris Jones has built a career out of his quickness.
But they’ve never lived with arms this short in this front office era.
Neither player has even stepped onto the field for an NFL practice. We can’t say with certainty they’ll pan out.
We can say it’s time they attack the pass rush a little differently.
I’d mentioned their pressure rate from a year ago. But it’s not a one-year problem.
The Chiefs ranked 18th in pressure rate in 2024 — and 30th on non-blitz situations. They were 22nd in pressure rate on non-blitzes in 2023, 24th in 2022, 21st in 2021 and 26th in 2020.
The scheme has covered the flaws.
But some of those flaws? A lack of speed.
They’ve found speed. They hope they can live with the, uh, shortcomings.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Why the Chiefs ignored a key draft trait to solve their pass rush."