Inside the rise of Leo Chenal, the Chiefs’ most underrated defensive player

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The day was April 30, 2022, a sunny afternoon on which the Chiefs held a party inside Arrowhead Stadium for their season ticket holders on the final day of the NFL Draft.

The weekend was pivotal for the Chiefs. A month earlier, the Chiefs had traded Tyreek Hill, the league’s fastest player and the perfect deep-threat, game-changing receiver for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks. The transaction, executed by coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach, was done to help improve the Chiefs defense and better balance the roster. On that late-April afternoon, the Chiefs’ party centered on introducing the newly drafted rookies to their fans.

The final player who walked onto the small stage was Leo Chenal, a linebacker from Wisconsin who wore light blue jeans, a red polo with the Chiefs logo stitched near his heart and a black-and-red Chiefs ballcap.

With a microphone in his right hand, Chenal energized the crowd, lifting his arms and encouraging the fans to increase the volume of their roar. He pounded his chest twice before he flexed his large, muscular arms for the crowd.

Mitch Holthus, the Chiefs’ longtime radio play-by-play announcer, hosted a short interview with the rookies. Holthus, sensing Chenal’s energy, asked the linebacker only one question: “Leo, what do you bring to the table for the (Chiefs) Kingdom?”

Leaning forward with a smile, Chenal knew the perfect way to describe himself as a player.

“Violence and physicality, man!” Chenal shouted, the crowd producing an even louder cheer. “That’s it. I am addicted to hitting people. I love it. I can’t get enough. That’s what I came here to do.”

Five games into his third season, Chenal has fulfilled his promise.

The Chiefs will enter Sunday’s rematch of Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers with a 5-0 record. The Chiefs defense has once again been the team’s best unit, holding opponents to an average of 17 points per game, the sixth fewest in the league.

Ask anyone in the unit who its most underrated player is, and the response will be Chenal.

“The guy is just consistent, physical and reliable,” safety Justin Reid said. “You know he’s going to win his gap and he’s hell for other teams to prepare for. He’s a really fun guy to play with. The guy can play whatever.”

Over the past month, The Athletic has asked many of the Chiefs’ defenders a simple question: Have you played with anyone like Chenal before? Every player but one said no.

While the Chiefs have two star players on defense, pass rusher Chris Jones and cornerback Trent McDuffie, Chenal is the most versatile player. In 145 defensive snaps this season, Chenal has played five positions — both off-ball linebacker spots, defensive end, defensive tackle and slot cornerback.

“It’s always nice getting on the field more, so I’ll take it,” Chenal said, smiling. “It’s really fun to be able to expand (my role) even more. I need to really know any (play) call that we have in.

“It’s just an honor to be in that position and have more stress on your shoulders because it means (the coaches) trust you.”

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By conventional statistics, Chenal is having a solid season — 18 tackles, one forced fumble and two pass breakups.

By most advanced metrics, however, Chenal’s performance has been significant to the Chiefs’ defensive success. Chenal is one of the highest-graded Chiefs players, earning a 78.7 overall, according to Pro Football Focus, including the team’s highest grade on run defense (80.2). He has generated seven stops and allowed just 17 receiving yards when in coverage as the nearest defender, according to Pro Football Focus. He has also missed only one tackle and has not committed a penalty. When Chenal has been on the field, the Chiefs have had a successful snap, by expected points added, 55 percent of the time, according to TruMedia.

“Pound-for-pound, he’s our strongest guy on defense,” longtime coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said of Chenal. “He loves to play. You give Leo any challenge, like, ‘Hey, I need you to do this this week,’ he says, ‘No problem.’ If you feed him something, you know it’s going to get done exactly the way you asked him to do it.”

In Week 1, Chenal was the spy defender against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the reigning NFL MVP. In Week 2, Chenal helped limit the Bengals to 74 rushing yards on 22 attempts by playing more on the defensive line than at linebacker. And against the Falcons in Week 3, Chenal created the penetration that led to a stop on a critical fourth-and-inches snap in the fourth quarter.

“He can literally line up anywhere on the front,” Cody Alexander, the creator of “MatchQuarters” and the author of six books on defense, said of Chenal. “Chenal is not sexy at all. He’s a big … guy that’s not super fast. He’s just a hard-working guy. But because of his diversity, that’s why the Chiefs love him. To me, his diversity and what he’s able to do is probably the biggest I appreciate about him.”

Alexander believes there are just five other NFL linebackers this season who are being used as positionless, hybrid defenders — Derrick Barnes (Lions), Mack Wilson (Cardinals), Kaden Elliss (Falcons), Jahlani Tavai (Patriots) and Willie Gay (Saints). Listed at 6-foot-3 and 25o pounds, Chenal has a higher overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus, than the other five linebackers.

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Chenal’s streak of high achievement on the field began in January during the Chiefs’ run to a second consecutive Super Bowl victory. Starting in three of those four games, Chenal recorded 15 tackles, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble.

“He had a great Super Bowl,” Spagnuolo said.

Chenal was the highest-graded player in Super Bowl LVIII, earning a 92 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus. He stopped the 49ers’ first drive of the game by stripping the ball away from running back Christian McCaffrey. Chenal also hit quarterback Brock Purdy, generating two pressures to go along with six tackles, including one that resulted in an 8-yard loss.

Alexander believes Chenal’s versatility also helps the Chiefs off the field, namely their bottom line.

“This is why Willie Gay was allowed to walk (in free agency),” Alexander said. “Chenal and his usage is not going to translate into ‘We’ve got to spend a ton of capital on this.’ What it ends up doing — and this is the age of the modern NFL, especially when you have a quarterback that’s going to be making $60 million — is you need to find guys like Chenal on defense where he can do so many different things.

“Basically, he’s like having three different players.”

In the spring of 2022, the Chiefs conducted a pre-draft interview with Chenal on a video conference. Almost immediately, Spagnuolo was impressed. Chenal demonstrated his intelligence, explained his love for the sport and answered questions easily and eagerly.

“I just remember saying, ‘I’d love to have that guy,’” Spagnuolo said.

At Wisconsin, Chenal was a first-team All-American and the Big Ten’s linebacker of the year as a junior. He recorded 115 tackles, 18 1/2 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, eight sacks and two forced fumbles.

“They basically ran a 2-4,” Alexander said of Wisconsin’s defense. “They had these four hybrid dudes (Chenal and linebackers Jack Sanborn, Nick Herbig and Noah Burks) and they would just move them around. They all looked like clones. (Defensive coordinator) Jim Leonhard would just do a bunch of different stuff.”

At the time, Chenal was the 58th-ranked prospect overall and the sixth-ranked linebacker according to Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft guru.

The Chiefs used the 103rd pick in the third round to grab Chenal.

“Even in the Zoom, you could tell he was tough and big and strong and scary,” Spagnuolo said. “I wasn’t sure he would be doing as many things as he’s doing now, but I saw a passionate player.”

Spagnuolo originally started using Chenal in different positions to help the Chiefs stop the opposing team’s rushing attack.

In consecutive weeks midway through last season, the Chiefs faced the Broncos and Dolphins, two opponents who used their rushing running backs to set up and support the deep passing attack. Chenal finished those two games with a combined 14 tackles and two sacks.

With increased responsibilities from Spagnuolo, Chenal became more of an impactful contributor. Chenal was a big reason the Ravens’ running backs totaled just 23 rushing yards in the AFC Championship Game.

“The Chiefs will have (linebacker Drue) Tranquill and Chenal as the edges and they’re basically in a bear front,” Alexander said. “Three years ago, they wouldn’t be able to do that. It just amplifies your defense because you can do more.”

Chenal’s versatility has allowed the Chiefs to use more alignments on the defensive line. As a defensive tackle in the three-technique spot, Chenal is often too quick for a double team from interior offensive linemen and he’s just strong enough to hold his ground at the line of scrimmage for a teammate to tackle the running back.

In the Super Bowl, Chenal disrupted the 49ers’ ability to run the ball on stretch plays toward the perimeter of the field.

“Chenal is a Ted linebacker, meaning he’s going to follow the tight end,” Alexander said. “If that’s where he is, he’s pressing the point of attack on the tight end. He’s essentially an edge.”

Chenal’s most popular play with his teammates this season was one on which he didn’t record a statistic.

The Chiefs’ run defense was a major reason the team escaped Atlanta with a close victory. With less than a minute remaining and trailing by five points, the Falcons faced fourth-and-inches from the Chiefs’ 13-yard line. The Falcons lined up in a condensed formation featuring two tight ends and two running backs, similar to one they used in the second quarter to score a 1-yard touchdown. Linebacker Nick Bolton was the lone defender the Falcons didn’t block. He sprinted upfield behind Chenal, who created penetration against left tackle Jake Matthews, and tackled running back Bijan Robinson behind the line of scrimmage for a 3-yard loss.

“That’s a team play right there,” Chenal said. “You have guys that don’t get credit for something, but one of us — a linebacker, a safety, a cornerback — is coming in and making the play. I just happened to be in that position on a really important play and Nick was going to make that play no matter what.”

This season, no opposing running back with 11 or more rushing attempts — Robinson, Alvin Kamara (Saints), Derrick Henry (Ravens) and J.K. Dobbins (Chargers) — has gained even 50 yards against the Chiefs.

When asked The Athletic’s question — have you played with anyone like Chenal before? — 10-year veteran defensive tackle Mike Pennel, after a five-second pause, could only think of one former teammate.

“He reminds me a lot of Clay Matthews,” a six-time Pro Bowler with the Packers, Pennel said. “No matter if he’s playing 15 or 30 plays, he’s always around the ball. He’s a rare guy, for sure. It’ll be great to see how he develops even more.”

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Despite his stocky frame, don’t be fooled: Chenal is a freakish athlete.

At the NFL combine in 2022, Chenal ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds and posted a vertical jump of 40.5 inches. Both marks were elite for a linebacker, no matter his size. And on the bench press, Chenal lifted 225 pounds an impressive 34 times. In fact, Chenal’s relative athletic score was almost perfect, a 9.99 out of 10, ranking third out of 2,410 linebackers from 1987 to 2022.

Perhaps Chenal’s most athletic feat with the Chiefs didn’t happen on the field. It was in the middle of a street in downtown Kansas City during the team’s championship parade on Feb. 15, 2023. Having already drank several beers, Chenal wanted to return to the top of a double-decker bus to be with teammates. Chenal could’ve entered the bus through its open front door. Instead, Chenal wowed fans by doing a one-step vertical leap, grabbing onto the edge of the bus’ top level similar to how basketball players hang on to the rim after dunking the ball.

Chenal lifted himself over the top railing, then pumped his fist to the roaring crowd.

The next phase of Chenal’s development is seeing how far he can elevate his play as a pass rusher.

Although Chenal hasn’t recorded a sack this season, he has been instrumental to the pass rush. In the win over the Saints, Chenal began one play lined up as the defensive end next to Jones, the Chiefs’ best pass rusher. Chenal bull-rushed right tackle Trevor Penning into quarterback Derek Carr while Jones defeated a double team. Under pressure, Carr was forced to scramble out of the pocket and throw the ball away.

Before the season opener, Spagnuolo shared with Chenal that he would have perhaps the unit’s toughest assignment: He would be the spy defender for Jackson, the league’s most elusive ball carrier.

Before that game, Chenal said he had been a spy in limited snaps just twice — against Bills quarterback Josh Allen in last season’s AFC divisional-round game and during his college career at Wisconsin against Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Chiefs’ win over the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game in January served as a valuable experience and a motivating factor for Chenal.

“I missed a sack on (Jackson) and they scored the touchdown and I kind of took that to heart,” Chenal said. “It’s something that stung me a long time. There’s no better way of learning (than) from your past mistakes.”

Playing 48 of the Chiefs’ 80 defensive snaps, Chenal earned a 79.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, the second-highest of any defender (Jones earned an 83). Chenal led the unit with five tackles that resulted in negative expected points added for the Ravens.

In the final seconds before halftime, the Ravens were inside the red zone with an opportunity to take a one-point lead if they scored a touchdown. With 13 seconds left, Chenal lined up as a defensive tackle before he dropped back to be a spy, leading him to read Jackson’s eyes to make a touchdown-saving pass breakup. Jackson showed his frustration after the play and the Ravens settled for a short field goal.

“That pressure of, ‘When instantly I break the pocket, he’s right there in my face,’ that presence (0f Chenal) keeps him contained,” Alexander said of Jackson. “Using him as a guy who’s going to make sure Lamar doesn’t run, I thought that was a really clever way of using him.”

Chenal indeed prevented Jackson from scrambling out of the pocket on the Ravens’ final possessions. In the final minute, Jackson, facing intense pressure, threw three consecutive incompletions inside the red zone to end the game.

Last month, Chenal received praise from analyst Bill Belichick, the legendary former coach of the Patriots, during “Inside the NFL.” The Chiefs coach who is helping develop Chenal as a pass rusher is linebackers assistant Brendan Daly, who helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls as defensive line coach under Belichick. Daly has had Chenal look at film of former Patriots linebackers Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy and Dont’a Hightower as pass rushers to help polish his techniques.

“Coach Daly has a lot of good experience and he’s been a super helpful resource for me,” Chenal said. “Not just the idea of it, but the specifics.”

This season, Spagnuolo has used Chenal as a blitzer eight times.

The most notable one came against the Bengals. In the fourth quarter, Chenal blitzed from his linebacker spot on a third-and-10 snap, which allowed Jones to have a one-on-one matchup against left guard Cordell Volson that he won quickly. Jones and Chenal forced quarterback Joe Burrow to escape the crumbling pocket.

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But Burrow was sandwiched by defensive end Mike Danna and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, a chain-reaction collision that surprised Burrow enough to force him to fumble the ball. Safety Chamarri Conner scooped the ball up and scored the Chiefs’ lone touchdown of the fourth quarter.

“He’s unselfish,” Alexander said of Chenal as a pass rusher. “Either his picking somebody or occupying someone. Maybe it’s washing the tackle down so that the edge rusher can get free.

“That’s the secret that nobody wants to talk about in the NFL. A lot of times these defensive coordinators are hamstrung by their personnel, not because of what they can’t do but because of what they won’t do. You get a guy that’s like, ‘I want to rush the quarterback, I don’t want to be the pick player.’ To me, having a guy like (Chenal), it fits what the Chiefs are trying to do on defense, which is the workpail mentality.”

Earlier this month, Spagnuolo asked a question: “Have you seen him playing fullback?”

The Chiefs unveiled Chenal’s newest position against the Bengals, lining him up in the backfield, in a four-point stance, next to Mahomes. When the Chiefs were 1 yard from the end zone, Chenal executed his assignment, a lead block of linebacker Joe Bachie for rookie fullback Carson Steele. But the Chiefs fooled the Bengals with a play-action fake to Steele, setting up Mahomes to throw a 1-yard touchdown pass to left tackle Wanya Morris, who was wide open in the corner of the end zone.

After the highlight, Ryan Clark, an analyst on “Inside the NFL” described Chenal as Andy Reid’s version of Belichick’s Mike Vrabel, the former linebacker who helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls and finished with 10 touchdown receptions. Belichick smiled, chuckled and nodded his head.

“I love his versatility, playing both sides of the ball,” Belichick said. “He’s tough.”

After Spagnuolo asked his question, one was posed to him: Whose idea was it for Chenal to play on offense?

“I’ve been telling (offensive line) coach (Andy) Heck that for two years,” Spagnuolo said, smiling. “I’d throw him the ball and I’d give him the ball. I just think he can do it. He’s going to do exactly what you ask him to do.”

(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)



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