On Sunday, the Chiefs made one of their strongest position groups even better.
Kansas City Chiefs fans wanted general manager Brett Veach to make a move, and on Sunday he did. In one of the more underrated moves of the offseason, Veach went out and got Seattle Seahawks cap casualty Jarran Reed.
Reed is a 5th-year defensive tackle out of Alabama, who in five seasons with the Seahawks has garnered the reputation for being a productive interior pass rusher. Reed stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 306 pounds. He isn’t the largest defensive linemen, and he isn’t gifted in the arm length department, but he makes up for it with an explosion off the ball and a solid arsenal of pass rush moves.
Reed is only modest against the run, but he does have good penetrating ability, and given his get off he can find ways to rip through to make tackles for loss.
I doubt we will see much of Reed on heavy packages, or run-down packages. He isn’t a liability by any stretch of the imagination, but the Chiefs also have better interior options for plugging the run. Where Reed will make his money, and where he will make his largest impact for the Chiefs will be on obvious pass rush downs.
Reed had 6.5 sacks in 2020, which is well above average for a defensive tackle, and even tallied 10.5 in 2018, which was also Frank Clark’s final season in Seattle. Clark and Reed combined for 23.5 sacks in 2018, and now they will have a chance to rekindle their chemistry in Kansas City.
From reports, it even seems that Clark was an integral member of helping land Reed in Kansas City. This move should benefit both players, and it should also help the head of Sack Nation, Chris Jones.
Dominant interior pass rushers like Chris Jones are rare, and that is why teams covet them so highly. Most NFL teams are designed to have their best protection at the tackle positions, because there are so many high-level edge rushers in the NFL, especially with how the passing game has boomed in the last 20 years.
Teams are putting more resources into offensive tackles, but not as much into guards, and centers. This has allowed Chris Jones to flourish, but even still as impressive as he is, it is still easy for teams to double team in on the inside.
Bringing in Reed means if teams are going to be willing to double Jones on the inside, and even have outside help for Frank Clark, that Reed will have a one on one pass rush on most plays. This could be huge for the team and create a very versatile, and dangerous pass rush.
Reed even reportedly took less money to come play for the Chiefs, who got him on a one-year deal worth up to seven million dollars. This is his contract season. The top free-agent wide receivers weren’t willing to come to KC, due to having to take fewer targets behind Tyreek Hill and Travis Kecle.
The talent was already there, but this is what seems to have drawn Reed to Kansas City. He is going to have more one-on-one pass rushes than any other time in his career, which should give him a chance to reach productive rush numbers. Reed will be another low-cost, potentially high reward for the Chiefs.
