Kansas City Chiefs have one of the most exciting defenses in more than a decade

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Kansas City’s defense carried the team for most of the regular season and performed well in Super Bowl LVIII, and has set the franchise up for future success.

Since the 2019 season, the Kansas City Chiefs defense has had two constant characters: defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive tackle Chris Jones.

Together, they are brilliant minds. And they have incredible – and unique – accomplishments. Jones is the only starter on KC’s defense from Super Bowl LIV, the first final against the 49ers, who was in the starting lineup for the rematch.

That’s exactly when Spagnuolo comes in, the discoverer and builder of talent. Since he joined the team, the entire defensive roster has been reshuffled. No wonder he’s the first offensive or defensive coordinator in NFL history to win four Super Bowls.

In addition to his three rings with the Chiefs, he was on the coaching staff of the New York Giants in the 2007 season, when they beat the invincible New England Patriots in SB XLII.

Always contenders

Kansas City’s 2023 season wasn’t perfect, but these past few years have taught us not to underestimate their dominance. They’re never not title favorites.

The Chiefs ranked second in the NFL in total defense and scoring defense this season. Since hiring Spagnuolo in 2019, they’ve allowed the fewest points per game in the regular season (17.3) and playoffs (13.7).

The impact on KC’s defensive unit was that it wasn’t very well known or talked about at first. Since the team doesn’t have the chance to spend tons of money in free agency and also hardly ever has picks to make in the top rounds of the Draft, the names may indeed be unknown. Until they pass through the magic hands – and mind – of Spagnuolo, at least.

For a few years now, the draft picks for the Chiefs have seemed to be on the back burner. They’re usually the ones that go unnoticed. The secret is not how good the prospects are, but how young they are. They’ve spent four seasons completely renewing their defense with young, underappreciated pieces.

The youngest defense in NFL in the 2023 season

In the Super Bowl against the Eagles, KC started with three rookies. In 2023, the team invested even more in the junior class, and saw veteran players like Carlos Dunlap and Frank Clark leave in the offseason.

The Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII with the youngest defense in the league. According to NFL Research, the average age of the defensive unit was 25 years and 279 days (the formula is calculated using the average of players with more than one game played in the regular season). It’s the second time the league’s youngest defense has reached a Super Bowl – the Colts were the first, in 2009.

Trent McDuffie, the 21st pick of the first round of the 2022 Draft, is one of the league’s great young talents. Bryan Cook, on the other hand, a second-round pick, improved a lot in his second season after a difficult rookie year.

Among the players signed last offseason, Justin Reid has performed above average and is on the very same level as players like Budda Baker and Eddie Jackson, who receive much bigger salaries.