Chiefs excited to see Breeland Speaks, Dorian O’Daniel continue to grow in third season
Chiefs fans are fully aware by now that the team returns 20 of 22 starters from last year’s Super Bowl-winning team.
Two players from the 2018 NFL Draft class who weren’t starters in 2019, though, are flying under the radar for the 2020 regular season.
And the upcoming season is important for defensive end Breeland Speaks and linebacker Dorian O’Daniel when considering they enter their third professional campaigns.
“The third year, I’ve found over the course of my career, is a year that guys kind of define themselves in a lot of instances,” Chiefs defensive line coach Brendan Daly said during a Thursday afternoon Zoom call.
The time is now for Speaks and O’Daniel given their respective draft status.
The Chiefs used a second-round pick (46th overall) on Speaks in 2018 and he went on to appear in 16 games with four starts, totaling 24 tackles, 1.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits in his first year in the league.
An offseason knee injury, however, prevented Speaks from building on his rookie season and he spent the 2019 campaign on injured reserve.
Kansas City had adequate depth on the edge opposite of Frank Clark last year to compensate for the loss of Speaks by going with a rotation consisting of Alex Okafor, Emmanuel Ogbah, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Demone Harris and Terrell Suggs.
Clark, Okafor, Kpassagnon and Harris return, and the Chiefs added defensive end Mike Danna in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. But that doesn’t mean the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Speaks should be a forgotten man, especially when Daly anticipates seeing Speaks come into his own in the third year.
“Breeland has done a nice job in terms of his rehab, in terms of working post-surgery, he’s had some good time in terms of recovery,” Daly said. “I’ve got high expectations for him. ... I’ve got great anticipation and hope for what we’re going to see out of him when we can get back on the field.”
Daly’s optimism for Speaks matches what Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House feels for the 6-1, 220-pound O’Daniel, a third-round pick (100th overall) in 2018. The Chiefs got a good look at O’Daniel in his rookie season, as he played in all 16 games with one start and totaled 34 tackles on 302 defensive snaps.
The change from a 3-4 base defense to a 4-3 scheme under Steve Spagnuolo, however, affected O’Daniel’s playing time in 2019, evidenced by five defensive snaps on the entire season. While he didn’t experience a lot of action on defense, O’Daniel emerged as a core special-teams contributor with the second-most snaps (292) on the team.
He now faces more competition for playing time in light of the Chiefs using a second-round pick on highly-touted Willie Gay Jr. in late April. But O’Daniel’s work ethic throughout the virtual offseason has impressed his position coach and could open the door for more action.
“Last year, it was his second year in the league, but it was his first year in the scheme,” House said. “I’m excited about Dorian. He’s really embraced these meetings and he’s very, very active and worked hard. I’m excited to see it transpire out on the field.”
Given the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, it remains unclear when the Chiefs’ coaches will have the first opportunity to see how Speaks and O’Daniel actually look on the field in what projects to be an important year for their respective careers.
But with their position coaches’ excitement level over the players’ potential to make an impact, the upcoming season should go a long way in helping define Speaks and O’Daniel.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Chiefs excited to see Breeland Speaks, Dorian O’Daniel continue to grow in third season."
