The Kansas City Chiefs had no shortage of preseason disappointments on Friday night, facing the Seattle Seahawks, but one veteran free agent addition’s lack of impact drew the ire of a KC writer and analyst.
“Where is Jerry Tillery?” Arrowhead Pride’s Rocky Magaña questioned on August 16. “Did he make the trip to Seattle?”
“Through two preseason games, [Tillery has] been on a milk carton,” Magaña continued, calling out the former first-round talent and $1.79 million signing.
The Arrowhead Pride writer concluded that Tillery “feels like a guy who could be on the roster bubble at the final cutdown,” despite entering training camp as a player who most — if not all — beat reporters had making the team.
Tillery was on the field for 29 defensive snaps against the Seahawks, according to Pro Football Focus. He recorded zero statistics aside from 1 penalty flag, and PFF graded his performance as a 30.2 out of 100.
Rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott recorded the lone Chiefs quarterback hit of the game on August 15, as the pass rush was “utterly ineffective” — to quote Magaña. No one did much of anything on the defensive line, but Tillery was certainly one of the most glaring offenders.
Jerry Tillery Was Just the Tip of the Iceberg as the Chiefs’ Backups Got Run Over by the Seahawks
GettyThe Seattle Seahawks ran for over 260 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The larger issue in Seattle, which Arrowhead Pride colleague Matt Stagner discussed on August 16, was that the Chiefs’ backups were absolutely steamrolled by the Seahawks.
“From the opening drive, it was an ugly performance from every level of the defense,” Stagner wrote, after labeling the Chiefs’ “run defense” one of the biggest losers of preseason Week 2.
“It’s difficult to call out any one player here, because so many contributed,” the KC analyst went on. “Jerry Tillery, Marlon Tuipulotu, Cam Jones, Mike Edwards, Jack Cochrane and others all played a role. There were missed tackles, defenders washed out by blockers, penalties and more.”
“It was the primary reason the game was so frustrating to watch,” Stagner finally noted. “268 yards rushing with two touchdowns? Preseason or not… that was ugly.”
Looking at PFF’s run defense marks, Cam Jones actually graded out extremely well with an average depth of tackle of -1.0 yards and 1 defensive stop, but he did miss 1 tackle.
Undrafted rookie linebacker Cooper McDonald was charged with 2 missed tackles on run defense, and fellow UDFA linebacker Brandon George was charged with 1, along with safeties Jaden Hicks and Bryan Cook, and defensive end Malik Herring.
Per PFF, the worst-graded Chiefs run defenders against the Seahawks were Cochrane, Tuipulotu, undrafted cornerback Melvin Smith, Tillery, rookie defensive end Ashton Gillotte, veteran defensive tackle Mike Pennel (6 snaps), Cook, Norman-Lott and Hicks.
Each of those players achieved a run defense grade under 50.0.
Could Chiefs Still Sign Another Defensive Tackle Before Week 1?
The Chiefs’ run defense will get better if Chris Jones and Nick Bolton are on the field, but the depth behind them is definitely a concern.
Outside of Norman-Lott, none of the KC defensive tackles have really panned out so far this summer, and if Pennel regresses with age, the Chiefs could find themselves in a bit of trouble on the interior defensive line.
After an outing as bad as the preseason effort vs. the Seahawks, it’ll be interesting to see if any heads roll on Monday. There is still time to add another defensive tackle, although the remaining options in free agency are available for a reason.
