On the day of the NFL trade deadline, the Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their defensive
line by sending a 2022 sixth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for DE Melvin Ingram,
who the team had been linked to in the offseason. Ingram, 32, has totaled six
quarterback hits, two TFLs and one sack in six games this season. The big question is
— what can Ingram bring to this defense?
By Jack Johnson, Sports Radio 810
For starters, this allows Chris Jones to take increasingly more snaps at his original
position of defensive tackle. Over the last two weeks, Jones has seen more action on
the interior opposed to the edge. This isn’t to say that Ingram is an every down starter at
defensive end, but having depth at that spot allows the defense to shift around. With
Frank Clark coming off his highest-graded PFF game as a Chief against the Giants
(91.7), Ingram has a chance to perform well with opposing offensive lines’ focus on
Jones and Clark.
Ingram is also an upgrade at the edge position opposite of Clark. Through six games,
Ingram has posted a PFF grade of 73.6 — qualifying as above-average. The other
options to start on the edge are Mike Danna (PFF grade of 60.0) and Alex Okafor (PFF
grade of 51.0). Ingram isn’t the type of edge rusher he was in Los Angeles with the
Chargers a few years back, but even his talent now gives the Kansas City defense a
much-needed boost.
Before striking the deal for Ingram, the Chiefs looked into Houston DE Charles
Omenihu, who had three QB hits in six games with the Texans. However, he was dealt
to the San Francisco 49ers for a future late-round pick. Though he had less production
in the same amount of games as Ingram, the upside to Omenihu was that he just turned
24 a little over two months ago.
Do you think Ingram will make an impact in Kansas City? Let us know your thoughts!