One of the biggest storylines from the Kansas City Chiefs last year was the breakout season for former first-round pick Dee Ford, who finished the year with 10 sacks and helped give the defense a pass-rushing presence with veteran Justin Houston missing all but five games as he worked his way back from offseason knee surgery.
Overall, Ford led all Chiefs outside linebackers with 797 snaps played, while veteran Tamba Hali, who averaged 918 snaps played between 2012-15 and ranks second in franchise history with 89.5 sacks, played just 591 snaps for the defense last year.
It wasn’t a surprise to see Hali’s snaps decline last year—that was the plan, and the hope was Ford could take the next step to being a factor for the defense, which is exactly what he did.