One of the free agent signings the Kansas City Chiefs made this offseason that shouldn’t go unnoticed is linebacker Drue Tranquill. Head coach Andy Reid had a lot of good things to say about him when asked about the versatile defender on April 17.
“He’s a good football player,” Reid said of Tranquill during his press conference. “He’s a smart kid. He’s got great size. He’s got good strength. He can cover, you know, in other words, run and cover. So we just had an opportunity to get him. And I sure liked the way he plays.”
Tranquill, 27, was a fourth-round draft pick of the Chargers in 2019. During the first three years of his career (which includes just one game during the 2020 season due to an injury), Tranquill was a rotational player on defense. Yet, during the 2022 season, he became a full-time starter for Los Angeles and rose to the occasion.
During the 2022 season, Tranquill recorded 100 tackles, 52 stops, and 15 total quarterback pressures (7 QB hits, 5 sacks, 3 QB hits) in 17 regular season games played according to PFF. His pressures coincided with a 77.0 PFF pass rush grade, which ranked 11th among all NFL linebackers. He also excelled in pass coverage, as he earned a 75.4 coverage grade which ranked 12th among all linebackers.
So, signing Tranquill to a one-year, $3 million deal this offseason was a great value for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Nick Bolton Praises Drue Tranquill’s Intelligence
Adding Drue Tranquill to a Kansas City’s linebacker room alongside Nick Bolton, Willie Gay, Leo Chenal, Jack Cochrane, and Cole Christianson will help the Chiefs fill the void left by Darius Harris, who took to free agency this offseason and has yet to sign with a team. Tranquill will improve Kansas City’s pass coverage in the linebacker room while also making that unit more lethal when it comes to blitzing.
Tranquill’s abilities have been recognized by not just the Chiefs coaching staff, but the players as well.
“When you put on the tape, man. You can see how intelligent Drue Tranquill is,” Bolton said during his April 17 press conference. “He’ll help us in terms of adding more ability to pass coverage — blitzing, runs — he does it all, man.”
Bolton also acknowledged that Tranquill’s knowledge of the game will be beneficial to Kansas City’s young linebacker group.
“We got a lot of young guys in the room, and so having that guy and having that experience to kind of bounce off ideas with, he’s seen a lot of football,” Bolton continued. “That’ll be beneficial for me, especially just me not playing a lot of football… I played two years, but I still have a lot of football ahead of me, and I’m still learning and still trying to evolve.”
Chiefs 2023 Free Agency Tracker
Here is a list of the players the Chiefs have signed during free agency thus far 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)
- P Tommy Townsend (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)
- Justin Watson (2 years, $3.5 million)
Here are the players that remain free agents:
- DE Frank Clark
- DE Carlos Dunlap
- DT Brandon Williams
- TE Jordan Franks
- RB Jerick McKinnon
- LB Darius Harris
Chiefs HC Andy Reid Gushes Over KC’s Key Free Agent Signing