After a spectacular showing in his past couple of games, is Sorensen the most underrated player on the Chiefs’ roster?
Hello again everyone and welcome to another week of the ArrowChop! This is the column where we look at the positives/negatives of a certain Chiefs/NFL issue and look at both sides of the aisle. Then you, the readers, will come to your conclusions after I lay out the case. So sit back, relax, and enjoy as we breakdown this week’s hot topic.
The Chiefs had a field day against the Jets on Sunday as Mahomes and company annihilated them to a score of 35-9. On offense, Mahomes was the key contributor for the win as he threw for over 400 yards and added five touchdowns to his spectacular season; and on defense, Daniel Sorenson was the main contributor. Sorensen had nine total tackles on the day (eight solo tackles, one assisted) and had a forced fumble which is a well-played game for any player in the league; and along with past games, it seems as though he’s one of the best performers on the Chiefs’ defense as of now.
Every team has their underrated star that isn’t viewed/looked at properly, so is Sorensen the Chiefs most underrated player on the team, or does someone else take this spot? Let’s break down both sides of the case to find out:
Daniel Sorensen is the most underrated player on the Chiefs
Let’s look at his past couple of games to hold on to this truth. In last weeks win against the Denver Broncos, he had nine combined tackles and secured an interception that led to a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown; moreover, this swung momentum to the Chiefs way as the score was 17-6 favoring the Chiefs. He also had zero missed tackles and that led to him being the highest-graded defensive player for the said game. This would be the best grade he has ever received in his seven-year career:
We can even look at Week 4’s game against the New England Patriots to analyze this deeper. According to our very own site contributor Shawn Dixon, he was able to stop a screen pass to running back James White for a loss of four yards which set-up a 3rd and 8 right before the half ended.
This lead to Brian Hoyer (the Patriots starting quarterback during the game) dropping back to pass, and Chiefs’ defensive end Frank Clark to come up with a huge sack to end the half. The Patriots were unable to set-up a field goal because they had no timeouts, and even if they kicked the field goal, they still would have lost by two possessions. Sorensen himself had an amazing game as he had six combined tackles and he two tackles for a loss (which included the screen pass stop previously mentioned).
Sorensen has been underrated for many years now and fans are just now seeing it. Let’s hope this level of play continues for the rest of the season!
Sorensen isn’t the most underrated player on the Chiefs
Some fans want to look at undrafted free agent Tershawn Wharton as the most underrated player on the Chiefs roster as he is having a spectacular season. Wharton played at Missouri S&T in college and earned his spot on the Chiefs 53-man roster this offseason.
This week against the Jets, he had four combined tackles (two solos, two assisted) along with a tackle for a loss and the first sack of his young NFL career; he also has 19 tackles (11 solo), three tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery after only playing 37.5% of defensive snaps this season; moreover, as of right now, Wharton is the 2nd-highest graded rookie defensive lineman this season, only behind number two overall pick Chase Young:
Wharton looks destructive on the field and it looks like Veach found a hidden gem that wasn’t drafted. He creates pressure, makes key plays, and it seems he’s only getting better as the season comes along. Who knows what in store for the future, but it looks brighter than the lights that shine upon Arrowhead Stadium.
Fans also lean on Hardman for being the most underrated player on the Chiefs and it’s not a surprise that fans believe this. He had an exceptional rookie season with over 500 yards receiving, six receiving touchdowns, 20.6 yards per reception, a 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and he was nominated to the Pro Bowl. This year started slow, but he’s now showing flashes of what he can do. On Sunday, he caught seven catches on nine targets for 96 yards with a touchdown; the week before against the Broncos, he had two catches for 57 yards with one rush for 13 yards.
His speed creates an immediate mismatch against a lot of defensive backs in the league and his catching and route-running are showing signs of improvement. This leads to him receiving a motherload of praise for his style of play, especially from offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy:
“He does some things everyone can’t do… one thing we love with Mecole (is that) when that ball is in his hands, he finds a way to make things happen.”
– Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy
Mecole is an exceptional player on the Chiefs roster and it’s not hard to understand why some fans think he’s the most underrated player on the roster. He has proven himself and he has finally found his stride to contribute as of late.
Who do you think is the most underrated player on the Chiefs roster? Leave a comment down below with your thoughts. Thanks for reading and have an awesome day!
