Veteran Chiefs linebacker believes run defense will only get better in 2020 and beyond
The Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV with the 17th-ranked defense in the league.
Numbers alone, however, don’t capture the full picture of the Chiefs’ domination toward the end of the regular season, when they held opponents to nine or fewer points in three of their final five games.
And starting middle linebacker Anthony Hitchens believes there is room to grow, saying it starts with what began as the defense’s Achilles heel.
“I think we can get better in the run game,” Hitchens said during a Friday morning Zoom call. “Our DBs and our secondary saved us a lot of games. … I just think it’s more of the run defense than the pass defense. Once we get that settled, complete and make it a defense, we’ll be good for years to come.”
Hitchens has a point on the differences between the pass and run units. The former finished the season ranked eighth in the league one year removed from ranking 31st. The Chiefs’ run defense, meanwhile, ranked 26th, allowing 128.2 yards rushing per game.
There was an adjustment period last year, though, as the Chiefs transitioned from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 scheme under first-year defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
The growing pains came early for the run defense when the Chiefs allowed their Weeks 3-6 opponents to combine for 761 yards rushing, a head-turning average of 190.25 per game.
But after a Week 10 misstep against Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, who gouged them for 188 and two touchdowns, the linebacker group of Hitchens, Damien Wilson and Reggie Ragland settled down.
Their comfort level in Spagnuolo’s scheme helped the Chiefs stop the formidable ground attacks of the Houston Texans, Titans and San Francisco 49ers during the postseason en route to a league championship.
“The details of the defense for Spags’ system, it’s hard to play fast if you don’t know all the details,” Hitchens said. “Over the whole last year, as the team grew, we all got more detailed in the defense and we played better, obviously.”
An ability to adapt will be needed again next season, with the Chiefs experiencing some change in their linebacker corps. Ragland signed a free-agent deal with the Detroit Lions in March, and the Chiefs filled the hole by adding a piece through the draft in the form of second-round pick Willie Gay Jr. out of Mississippi State.
Hitchens believes the rookie will make an immediate impact, especially against an opponent’s ground game.
“He’s got a lot of tools that you need to stop the run,” Hitchens said. “He can go sideline to sideline, he’s physical, he’s got energy. Energy stops the run.”
With Gay, the Chiefs have a player who possesses the skill-set to become an every-down player alongside Hitchens and Wilson. The 6-foot-1, 243-pound Gay has 4.46 speed and flashed big-play ability in college.
It’s no wonder Hitchens, who is entering his seventh professional season, is excited not just to share the field with Gay, but to provide him some mentorship.
“I can’t wait to play with him,” Hitchens said. “I texted him as soon as he got picked. … A couple of days ago, I told him if he needed anything, just to let him know I’m here to help people. I got helped when I was young and I’m just trying to help him grow, help him be a professional.”
In the meantime, the Chiefs return 20 of 22 starters from last year’s Super Bowl-winning team, including Hitchens among 10 defensive starters.
Instead of bringing an entire defensive unit up to speed in Spagnuolo’s scheme, the Chiefs just need Gay to acclimate quickly this season.
If the rookie linebacker can hit the ground running, the team’s run defense, which proved stout to close out 2019, can only get better as a complementary piece to one of the NFL’s top pass defenses.
“Once we get that going with the run game, like definitely not making any predictions or anything like that, we should be a top-5 defense,” Hitchens said.
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Veteran Chiefs linebacker believes run defense will only get better in 2020 and beyond."
