{"id":58675,"date":"2025-05-05T06:05:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T06:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=58675"},"modified":"2025-05-05T06:06:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T06:06:04","slug":"steve-spagnuolo-is-going-to-love-having-jeff-bassa-in-the-chiefs-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=58675","title":{"rendered":"Steve Spagnuolo is going to love having Jeff Bassa in the Chiefs\u2019 defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u0110\u00e3<\/p>\n

Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, there wasn\u2019t a lot of talk about the Kansas City Chiefs going after a linebacker. But that\u2019s exactly what they did in the fifth round, using the 156th overall pick to bring Oregon linebacker Jeff Bassa to Kansas City.<\/p>\n

Even though coming to the Chiefs came with a price \u2014 becoming teammates with Josh Simmons of the rival Ohio State Buckeyes \u2014 Bassa is delighted with where he landed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly a blessing,\u201c he told reporters before the Sunday session of the team\u2019s rookie minicamp. \u201c[I walked] past Josh, [who] went to the school that knocked us out of the playoffs \u2014 but I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll have jokes about that down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steve <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by CFP\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

If he gets to play for the Chiefs, Bassa is more than willing to put that aside.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I\u2019ll keep saying, I\u2019m so blessed to be here and have the opportunity to [walk] into the building every day and [see] the Kansas City Chiefs logo everywhere [and meet] the coaches that you watch on TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re like, \u2018Wow, I really love the opportunity and chance [to] play [here].\u2019 So to be here now \u2014 to be living in the moment \u2014 it\u2019s truly amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely his new team is just as happy to have Bassa, who played as a defensive back and a wide receiver before beginning his Oregon career as a safety \u2014 and then becoming a linebacker before his sophomore season with the Ducks. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Bassa immediately gives Kansas City something it hasn\u2019t had since Willie Gay Jr. moved on: a second-level defender who can be effective in coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the main way it helps me out is knowing what my DBs are doing in the back end,\u201d said Bassa of his background. \u201cSo sometimes the communication may be different compared to a linebacker\u2019s communication from his job standpoint, right? So when it comes to knowing when my safeties are rotating \u2014 or knowing what kind of coverage we really wanna show in the back end \u2014 I have a second sense: \u2018OK, now if the safeties are doing this<\/em>, now I can do this<\/em>, right?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then, when it comes to coverage ability, obviously I have been matched up on running backs and tight ends \u2014 and then, running with receivers is something that is not a mismatch for me, as it would be for some people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bassa can also run the defense as a MIKE linebacker, making him a player that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will love to have as a backup for Nick Bolton.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I\u2019m] a guy who was responsible for doing all that at Oregon,\u201d Bassa pointed out. \u201cI feel like that translates here as well \u2014 especially under Spags\u2019 defense. You\u2019ve got to be a linebacker that can communicate \u2014 [to] make sure your defensive line is set as well as making sure the DBs are on the same page as everybody else, right? So I took a lot of pride in that at Oregon \u2014 and so for me to have the same role, kind of, heading into a defense where there\u2019s a lot of communication? I feel like that\u2019s a perfect situation for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steve <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by Jevone Moore\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

But Bassa doesn\u2019t want to leave the impression that he\u2019s an egghead linebacker who cannot play instinctively. He\u2019s spent so much time watching film that he\u2019s ready for anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a huge film junkie,\u201d he revealed. \u201cThere [are times] where I\u2019m just sitting in the house all day watching film for hours. I take a lot of pride in taking good notes and watching a lot of film. I think that really came from my love of the game for football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bassa says he became a film junkie in high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember [going] on YouTube [to] watch NFL defensive breakdowns of defensive coverage,\u201c he recalled. \u201cIt [was] people on YouTube just saying, \u2018Oh, this team\u2019s in this <\/em>defense and this linebacker is responsible for this<\/em>,\u2019 right? So I really had that itch for watching film; [I] just wanted to learn more about football and defensive scheme.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I really started moving that over to offense. [I was] picking, my OC\u2019s brain at Oregon, getting close with the quarterbacks and learning what they\u2019re understanding and what they\u2019re trying to do from an offensive standpoint. So [I\u2019m] really just trying to [do] a deep dive into both sides of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so far, Bassa seems comfortable working his way into Spagnuolo\u2019s complex defensive scheme.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first couple of installs [have] been really good for me,\u201d he reported. \u201cOverall, I feel like I\u2019m catching on pretty well. Honestly, right now I feel like I\u2019m at a good stage where I can keep going back \u2014 [while] looking at the notes and looking at the film \u2014 and say, \u2018OK, I was supposed to do this <\/em>instead of this<\/em>, right?\u2019 So [I\u2019m] just catching on, slowly, day-by-day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The former Oregon linebacker will be a versatile player in the Kansas City defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":58677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nSteve Spagnuolo is going to love having Jeff Bassa in the Chiefs\u2019 defense - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=58675\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steve Spagnuolo is going to love having Jeff Bassa in the Chiefs\u2019 defense - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The former Oregon linebacker will be a versatile player in the Kansas City defense.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=58675\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-05T06:05:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-05T06:06:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/kana2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=58675\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=58675\",\"name\":\"Steve Spagnuolo is going to love having Jeff Bassa in the Chiefs\u2019 defense - 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