Getty Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens in 2021.
Talk about rubbing salt in old wounds! In the spirit of NFL free agency beginning next week, ESPN’s NFL Nation put out an article aimed at determining each franchise’s best and worst signing since 2018.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, that insulting honor was bestowed upon former four-year starter and defensive team leader Anthony Hitchens — which feels extremely harsh. After all, he did help KC win a Super Bowl in 2019! Starting all three games during that playoff run.
“He wasn’t a bust, but Hitchens rarely had the impact the Chiefs hoped for in his four seasons with them after he signed a five-year, $45 million deal,” Kansas City correspondent Adam Teicher wrote. “He frequently came out of the game on third downs.”
Teicher did admit that Hitchens’ play “picked up dramatically after [the Chiefs] invested draft picks in Willie Gay in 2020 and Nick Bolton a year later.”
Ex-Chiefs LB Anthony Hitchens Might Be Getting a Bad Rap
KC has had far less impactful signings than Hitchens, but Teicher is taking financials into account. A dud like Le’Veon Bell only cost the Chiefs a little over $700K, for example, and this front office has been a lot more successful than other teams around the league — meaning the choices are limited.
Still, Hitchens probably doesn’t deserve a title like this in all honesty. Was he spectacular? No, but he was your average NFL linebacker for four seasons and the Chiefs made the AFC Championship each of the years he was on the team.
He was also relatively durable, starting 14 or more games in every campaign, with 381 total tackles as a Chief and 17 for a loss. He even forced two fumbles, with one interception, two sacks and 12 QB hits according to Pro Football Reference.
On top of that, Hitchens was a solid mentor to Gay and Bolton — who have turned into above average linebackers after a couple of years in the pros together. The latter is especially good, and in the end, Bolton’s emergence allowed the Chiefs to part ways with the veteran last February.
Tyrann Mathieu Named Chiefs’ Best Signing Since 2018
On the flip side, Teicher labeled ex-safety Tyrann Mathieu as KC’s “best signing” since 2018.
“Mathieu was a key player for the Chiefs as they went to back-to-back Super Bowls in his first two seasons with the team,” the ESPN beat reporter voiced. “In 2019, he helped lead a renovated defense that featured several new starters, a new coordinator and new staff. Toward the end of that Super Bowl-winning season, the Chiefs had one of the best defenses in the league.”
The “Honey Badger” was definitely a fan favorite — even if he vented a little bit too much on social media at times — and the majority of Chiefs Kingdom was sad to see him go last offseason, although it was probably the right move.
During his tenure with the franchise, he had 13 interceptions! Which was his highest INT total with any organization despite playing in Arizona for a longer period. Mathieu also defended 27 passes, with 213 total tackles over three seasons (eight for a loss), three sacks, and six QB hits.
Mathieu was an iron man for KC as well, missing just two outings during the regular season and postseason combined. Like Hitchens, he was a team leader too, inspiring his locker room often as the voice of the defense.
Nothing is more important than the clutch moments though, and Mathieu always showed up in big games. He had one playoff interception, not to mention a Super Bowl ring and two first-team All-Pro selections.