Ex-Chiefs Draft Pick on Pace to Win Major Award in USFL

Getty Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Breeland Speaks.

Former Kansas City Chiefs draft pick Breeland Speaks is playing in his first season in the USFL this spring and is on pace to be one of the league’s best defenders.

Through six weeks of the season, Speaks, 27, has registered 7 sacks, which leads the USFL, and 36 tackles as a member of the Michigan Panthers according to Fox Sports. Prior to Week 6, Speaks was one of four USFL defenders with a 90.0-plus overall PFF grade and ranked fourth in pass-rush win rate (19.7%).

If Speaks continues to dominate at this pace, he will likely be the USFL’s Defensive Player of the Year when the season is over. During the USFL’s inaugural season in 2022, defensive end Chris Odom was the league’s DPOY after registering 12.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles.


Breeland Speaks’ NFL Tenure was Short-Lived

Breeland Speaks was a second-round pick of the Chiefs in 2018 out of Ole Miss. During his rookie season, he played in all 16 regular season games and recorded 24 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble according to Pro Football Reference

Speaks was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2019, after suffering a knee injury during the preseason. While still on IR, Speaks was suspended by the NFL in December of that year for four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The Chiefs then waived Speaks in September 2020.

During the 2020 season, Speaks spent time on the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys practice squads. He then signed a Reserve/Future contract with the New York Giants in January 2021 but was waived by the team in May.


Chiefs 2023 Free Agency Tracker

Here is a list of the players the Chiefs have signed during free agency thus far (excluding undrafted rookies), along with their contracts according to Over The Cap:

  • OT Jawaan Taylor (4 years, $80 million)
  • DE Charles Omenihu (2 years, $20 million)
  • S Mike Edwards (1 year, $3 million)
  • LB Drue Tranquill (1 year, $5 million)
  • DT Tershawn Wharton (1 year, $2 million)
  • OL Nick Allegretti (1 year, $2.5 million)
  • OL Prince Tea Wanogho (tendered)
  • TE Jody Fortson (tendered)
  • QB Shane Buechele (tendered)
  • DT Derrick Nnadi (1 year, $1.2 million)
  • TE Blake Bell (1 year, $1.1 million)
  • DT Byron Cowart (1 year, $1.08 million)
  • DT Phil Hoskins (1 year, $940,000)
  • S Deon Bush (1 year, $1.3 million)
  • WR Richie James (1 year, $1.2 million)
  • WR Justin Watson (2 years, $3.5 million)
  • QB Blaine Gabbert (1 year, $1.1 million)
  • RB Jerick McKinnon (1 year, $1.16 million)
  • OT Donovan Smith (1 year, $3 million)
  • OT Sebastian Gutierrez (1 year, $870,000)
  • CB Lamar Jackson (1 year, $940,000)
  • DT Matt Dickerson (1 year, $1.08 million)
  • DT Chris Williams, (1 year, $940,000)

Here are the former Chiefs players that remain free agents:

  • DE Frank Clark
  • DE Carlos Dunlap
  • DT Brandon Williams
  • LB Darius Harris

Chiefs Undrafted Free Agent Tracker

Here are all of the undrafted rookies the Chiefs have put under contract since the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft:

  • CB Ekow Boye-Doe (Kansas State)
  • OG Jerome Carvin (Tennessee)
  • S Anthony Cook (Texas)
  • OL Anderson Hardy (Appalachian State)
  • LB Cam Jones (Indiana)
  • DE Truman Jones (Harvard)
  • LB Isaiah Moore (North Carolina State)
  • S Isaiah Norman (Marshall)
  • RB Deneric Prince (Tulsa)
  • WR Nikko Remigio (Fresno State)
  • CB Reese Taylor (Purdue)
  • CB Anthony Witherstone (Merrimack)
  • OT Chuckwuebuka Jason Godrick (Nigeria)
  • CB Kahlef Hailssie (Western Kentucky)

Next up on Kansas City’s offseason schedule are organized team activities (OTAs), which will take place from May 22 to May 24, May 30 to June 1, and June 6 to June 9. From there, the team will meet for mandatory minicamp from June 13 to June 15 before dispersing for summer break.

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