Two Reasons to Be Worried About Chiefs' Defense Entering the Regular Season

After a down season on both sides of the ball, the Kansas City Chiefs went to work and constructed a new-look team on both sides of the ball. It was Steve Spagnuolo's defense, though, that received the bulk of the investment and now boasts an injection of youth.

With some fresh talent up front and massive changes taking place in the secondary, no one can accuse the front office of not trying. On the flip side, it's always tough for a perceived contender to make so many pieces jell together quickly. There may be some bumps in the road.

It's those beyond the proven veterans who bring the most questions with Week 1 on the horizon. Which two spots could cause the most reason for concern? Joshua Brisco, Nate Taylor and Seth Keysor discussed that and more on a September episode of the Only Weird Games podcast on KC Sports Network.

The defensive end room remains a massive wild card

A lack of a true pass rush was a big-time weakness of the 2025-26 Chiefs. Spagnuolo is known for being a mad scientist who's more than comfortable blitzing opposing signal-callers into oblivion, but that plan loses its effectiveness when it becomes a required element of the defense.

According to TruMedia, Kansas City ranked 12th in the percentage of plays the defense brought five men in a pressure attempt (22.2%). The club was fourth (12.9%) when it came to pressures of at least six, and its 4.1% mark of max-pressure (seven-plus rushers) plays trailed only Brian Flores' Minnesota Vikings for the most in the sport. Not all of that can be chalked up to Spagnuolo's own preferences — it was a personnel issue.

Despite George Karlaftis likely remaining as steady as ever and second-round rookie R Mason Thomas entering the fold, the defensive end room is still perhaps the worst on the team. Former first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah had a couple of impressive preseason moments but has yet to justify even a fraction of his 2023 draft slot. Elsewhere, projected starter Ashton Gillote was nothing special in year one and now comes into year two rehabbing from a ruptured plantar fascia.

An improved interior should help the defensive line a lot, but there's so much still left to sort out regarding the edge rushers. Spagnuolo can only cover for so much, thus making the defensive ends the position to watch on his side of the football.

What happens if one of Nick Bolton or Drue Tranquill goes down?

The Chiefs know they likely can't replace exactly what Leo Chenal brought, and their SAM linebacker gig has been a hot subject of discussion all offseason long. Names like Cooper McDonald and Jeffrey Bassa routinely had their names brought up, then neither player turned that buzz into real production in the offseason program, training camp or preseason.

With the crutch of Chenal no longer in the building, there's even more pressure on the veteran duo of Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill to be pillars of the defense's second level. Considering Bolton played over 1,000 snaps a year ago (97.3% of those available) and Tranquill wasn't too far behind at 884 (85.0%), that's a scary proposition.

It doesn't help matters that Tranquill turned 31 in August and has visibly lost a step or two since he first signed in Kansas City back in 2023. Bolton himself has played through nagging injuries in recent years and missed time due to others. The sheer volume of plays these two are involved in — they combined for 257 tackles in 2025 — means they're bound to take some damage over the course of a grueling campaign. The likes of Bassa, McDonald and Jack Cochrane won't save them.

Taylor, specifically, mentioned on Only Weird Games that the Chiefs' training staff should see plenty of both 'backers throughout the season to keep them in tip-top shape. If they come off the field for too long during the season, it could spell doom for those around them.

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