The Kansas City Chiefs' 2022 rookie class was a group filled with talent on both sides of the ball, and players ranged from NFL-ready contributors to picks seemingly geared more toward the future. Third-rounder Leo Chenal, who was taken with pick No. 103, found himself somewhere in the middle.
Coming out of Wisconsin, Chenal was an uber-aggressive linebacker with one of the more impressive pre-draft processes of the year. With that said, he also had a ways to go in terms of his development and wasn't ready to assume a full-time role. The Chiefs, already boasting a linebacker duo of Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr., worked him into the fold over the course of the year and put him on the field for 23% of available defensive snaps. Chenal played 20 snaps or more in each of the last four weeks of the season and played 18 in Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. His impact became greater, and he entered this offseason with a runway to improve.
Following a training camp practice over the weekend, Chenal said he's growing more and more comfortable in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's scheme.
“It’s really night and day," Chenal said. "This year just having that whole offseason – even the longer season in the NFL, you start to feel those things you wouldn’t feel after a year or whatever in college because it’s so much longer. Entering in to this season, this offseason, I have been able to be more like, ‘Okay, I know what I’m doing for the most part. Now let’s work on the little things like technique.’ Those little things I wouldn’t be able to work on before, I now can because I’m not stressing about like, ‘Oh shoot is that my job? Where’s my guy at.’ It’s a lot better tunnel vison on what I’m doing.”
In 17 regular-season games as a rookie, Chenal made an impact on special teams but was also a valuable contributor on defense. Amassing 35 tackles (three for loss) in 17 games, he also logged three quarterback hits and a sack. Additionally, per Pro Football Focus, he ranked in the top 40 in both defense grade and run defense grade among all linebackers with at least 200 snaps played (100). Despite his somewhat limited role on the linebacker depth chart, the rookie stepped up on occasion and served as a quality depth piece when asked to.
Of course, Chenal's rookie year was far from perfect. He didn't always maintain the right lanes or the correct level of discipline during his reps and his pass coverage needed serious improvement. Linebackers coach Brendan Daly undoubtedly helped him throughout his first season as a pro, and Chenal spoke about the constructive criticism Daly is able to provide that assists the entire position group.
“You know a lot of times coaches can be in that position where – it’s their job (if) they look bad, if we look bad, they feel it’s on them," Chenal said. "There’s little techniques like – we call it a stud technique, getting up on the line and pressing – you get angry when you mess that up in a game. You’re going to get angry it’s hurting the team. So he takes us to the side and releases all the pressure that’s coming in on us in a game. It’s like okay, last thing you want to do is yell at a kid and have them freak out. That’s all he’s thinking about is getting that technique right for the run and then ‘Oh shoot.’ He overextends and now it’s a pass. So he really, he calms us down he, gets us ready to go and ready for the next play.”
Chenal flashed enough upside to maintain some intrigue entering the offseason, especially considering the athletic profile he has. Many expected him to see a significant increase in snaps this coming season, but the club's signing of Drue Tranquill likely extinguishes that possibility. Even with Tranquill in the fold, though, Chenal will continue to get on the field and be put in advantageous positions by his coaches. Kansas City is experimenting with him a bit during camp, and the 22-year-old is picking up more and more with each passing practice.
“Yeah Spags is having us try out different positions on the line, dropping from inside the line as that joker role," Chenal said. "We’re just trying to get better day in and day out with that. It’s something – an unfamiliar position to be in as an off-ball linebacker. Willie (Gay) and I have been taking that role of getting on the line and rushing. A guy like him, he’s got a ton of speed, so just learning from each other, learning from guys like George (Karlaftis), you know that’s been really nice."
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