Chiefs News: Drue Tranquill embracing continuity with 2024 defense

When linebacker Drue Tranquill signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2023 season, his best-case scenario was likely winning Super Bowl LVIII and earning a long-term contract offer this offseason.

That’s exactly how it played out, but he probably didn’t anticipate that coming from Kansas City.

It’s happened many times throughout NFL history: a veteran joining a team for one year, proving himself by helping win a title, then getting compensated for that newfound value elsewhere. Tranquill left such a mark on 2023 that the Chiefs — who have drafted and developed much of their championship core — were willing to offer him a three-year deal to become a more cemented part of the defense.

The 28-year-old linebacker has expressed nothing but gratitude for the chance to build on his first year in the system and grow over time. As he reminded reporters after Sunday’s training camp practice, he has not gotten that opportunity much in his adult football life.

“I just feel more comfortable because it’s my second year in the system,” Tranquill shared. “This is a complex defense, and I think this is only my second time in my collegiate and professional career where I’ve played in a system for two years in a row.”

“I’m looking to make big jumps,” Tranquill emphasized. “ [I’m] looking to be in more command and communicate more with my teammates.”

Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images

After five seasons of learning new schemes at Notre Dame, Tranquill was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers. Over four years, he learned from two different head coaches and various defensive assistants while still adjusting to the linebacker position. Tranquill played safety through his first three collegiate seasons.

The versatility may have given him a “hybrid” label early in his career, but there is no question about his position now. He is arguably the Chiefs’ most complete linebacker, looking to prove that further in 2024.

“I came into the league as a former safety, so people are going to automatically think, ‘This guy is not a physical linebacker; he’s a small linebacker,’” Tranquill acknowledged. “You just have to know yourself, and you have to come work on areas where you’re strong, and work on areas where you’re weak to try and get better as a player.”

That mentality has clearly driven Tranquill as a professional, proven by his growth as a run defender in the box. Early in his career, teams like the Chiefs took advantage of him on the field by running at him, looking to overpower him.

Now, Tranquill shows more than enough physicality to welcome downhill runners like Chiefs’ running back Isiah Pacheco. During Sunday’s practice, Tranquill and Pacheco matched up a lot in both individual and team periods, battling each other enough to spark a heightened exchange of words.

That’s just the championship-level competitiveness coming out on both sides. Tranquill feels the energy those moments provide during the dog days of training camp.

“It does something chemically in your body,” Tranquill described. “It gives you a little more adrenaline, a little more dopamine whenever you’re talking with somebody. It helps you forget how hot and tired you are.”

It’s no surprise Tranquill pushed Pacheco to his frustration point. Through the first three padded practices of camp, Tranquill has been selling out to stuff run lanes and take away throwing options. His urgency stands out, and that’s not by accident.

“I’m just trying to bring it,” Tranquill asserted. “I know [Pacheco’s] going to be low in the hole.”

With plenty of long, hot practices to come, this won’t be the last tiff between Chiefs players — and if it is, that would be worrisome.

The work needed to earn another Super Bowl victory will bring that fiery competitiveness out of players. Tranquill embraces it, which is one reason he deserves the continuity he now feels being in Kansas City.