The Kansas City Chiefs linebackers have been among the best in the National Football League over the last few seasons. Under the supervision of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs will look to land within the Top 10 defenses in the NFL for the third straight season in 2025.
One member of the linebacker crew who will be able to propel the defense into that Top 10 status is Drue Tranquill. Tranquill has been with the franchise since 2023 and has remained consistent in his first two years in Kansas City, dropping back to back 54 solo tackle seasons.
However, going into the new campaign, Tranquill shouldn’t be complacent where he currently stands, as the Chiefs could use the extra defensive help if games replicate the ones from last season. What the franchise is truly in need of from Tranquill is another 100+ tackle season.
As a member of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022, his final season before joining Kansas City, Tranquill set a new career high in total tackles with 146. Among the total tackles, Tranquill dropped 95 solo tackles, five quarterback sacks, four passes defended, and 12.5 stuffs.
During that final season in Los Angeles, Tranquill just missed out of the Top 10 in the NFL in total tackles collected, where he placed 12th. That 2022 season was also strong for Chiefs Nick Bolton, where he was four tackles shy of tying for the first place rank in that category.
That being said, Tranquill has, by no sense of the word, been unproductive for the franchise, as his presence greatly improves the defense to where the Chiefs Kingdom would notice if he was vacant. Alongside linebacker Bolton, the Chiefs have two very strong contenders to land over 100 total tackles in the upcoming campaign.
According to PFF.com, Tranquill was slightly above average as a defender last season but truly shined in the pass rush, earning a 72.1 grade and ranking 26th out of 189 qualified linebackers.
While the Chiefs have been highly linked to lean toward the defense in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, the franchise shouldn’t need to address the linebacker position as much as others.