Chiefs Land Veteran DE in Recent Prediction

The Kansas City Chiefs possessed a strong defense last season, regardless of how the campaign ended. Ranking as a Top 10 defense in the National Football League is no easy thing to do, but the Chiefs have been able to do stay within the rankings for the past two seasons.

That being said, there are plenty of positional needs to fill still this offseason. The franchise did bring in former Las Vegas Raider Janarius Robinson on Friday, but given his track record, the Chiefs could still be in the market to add to the defensive end position.

Lucky for Kansas City, they have two ways of filling the positional need: the first being the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, and the second being through free agency. There are still some top defenders on the open market ahead of the start of training camps, and the Chiefs could easily be intrigued.

According to Pro Football Network, the Chiefs could be a potential suitor to sign veteran defensive end Za'Darius Smith. Smith has been a venturer throughout the NFL, bouncing between five franchises throughout his career. Below is what the Pro Football Network had to say to defend its claim.

"The Kansas City Chiefs ranked 27th in sack rate last season when not blitzing, a damning that has forced this defense to get more aggressive with each passing season," PFN wrote.

Below, provided by Pro Football Network, is the Chiefs blitz rates since the 2022 campaign.

• 2022: 25.6%
• 2023: 28.6%
• 2024: 29.9%

"The three-peat didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean that the dynasty era in Kansas City is over, and a move like this would allow for more play-calling versatility on the defensive side than they had a year ago."

Last season, between both the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions, Smith dropped 35 total tackles, 22 solo tackles, and collected nine quarterback sacks. Throughout his 11 year NFL career, Smith has averaged just over six quarterback sacks and 30.3 total tackles.

The addition of Smith would surely give the Chiefs a boost on the defensive side of the ball, but with limited funds to spend this free agency, the prediction could be just that. A prediction.

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