The Kansas City Chiefs rebuilt a large part of their defense during the offseason.
They lost a slew starters, and replaced them mostly with talent from the 2026 NFL Draft. In fact, their first four selections were defensive players — cornerbacks Mansoor Delane and Jadon Canady, as well as defensive linemen Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas. The Chiefs did add a couple of veterans during free agency in safety Alohi Gilman and defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga.
Kansas City Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo Raises Concerns About His Young Defense
Spagnuolo is arguably the greatest defensive coordinator of all-time, and knows what it’s like for his units to undergo a rebuild. While speaking to the media on Friday, Spagnuolo admitted that he believes it will take his defense some time to gel together and play at the level it needs to.
“It might take the first month,” Spagnuolo said. “You just hope that while you’re figuring it out, you’re finding a way to win some games, because you don’t want to be behind the eight ball after the first month. That’s real. It’s going to take a little while. That’s why when we went into this game plan, we tried to shave things off because we want guys to play fast.”
Steve Spagnuolo Typically Gets His Defenses up to Speed Quickly
Spagnuolo has been tasked with getting his defenses to gel quickly several times, not only throughout his entire career, but during his seven-year tenure in Kansas City. During his first season with the team in 2019, the Chiefs’ defense had a lot of turnover to adjust to Spagnuolo’s scheme.
After a bit of a slow start, the unit flipped the switch down the stretch and played at an elite level — helping the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIV. In 2022 Kansas City underwent a youth movement of defense, very similarly to what it’s doing this year. Spagnuolo coached the rookie up quickly, and the Chiefs went on to win Super Bowl LVII.
Hopefully Spagnuolo can work his magic with the young guys once again in 2026. If he does, the Chiefs could jump right back into contention after a down 2025 season. Spagnuolo’s biggest current concern is with the secondary, due to the multiple injuries it’s had throughout training camp and preseason.
“One thing that’s a little concerning is the secondary, which is the one group that always needs to be [close],” Spagnuolo said. “I’m not sure we’ve had a one-week stretch where we’ve had all the same guys. For a while Mansoor was hurt, then Gilman got hurt for a little bit, now Chamarri’s (Conner) out. It’ll be challenging.”
Steve Spagnuolo Makes Concerning Statement About His Defense