Chiefswinitall 60 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 ,https://nflmocks.com/2018/05/17/kansas-city-chiefs-get-undrafted-gem-lb-ben-niemann/ . Kansas City Chiefs get undrafted gem in LB Ben Niemann by Sayre Bedinger1 day agoFollow @sayrebedinger Tweet Share x Comment The Kansas City Chiefs may have an undrafted free agent gem on their hands in former Iowa Hawkeyes outside linebacker Ben Niemann…The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but they set out to upgrade their defensive front seven in a big way with some of their highest draft selections. They started things off by taking athletic defensive end Breeland Speaks out of Ole Miss in the second round and followed that up with picks of Derrick Nnadi and Dorian O’Daniel in the third round. After the draft, however, is when the Chiefs may have gotten themselves a real gem. They brought in former Iowa Hawkeyes outside linebacker Ben Niemann as an undrafted free agent, and Niemann has a skill-set that translates very well to the next level in my opinion. Niemann has been a starter for the Hawkeyes for the past three seasons and was a key piece of a defense that was one of the Big Ten’s best over that period of time. Unlike his former Iowa teammate and now NFL rival Josey Jewell, Niemann was not the type of back to mix it up between the tackles on every play. More from NFL Mocks Chicago Bears: Who Will Benefit Most From Hall of Fame Game? Cleveland Browns: 5 Training Camp Battles to Watch Cleveland Browns: Hidden Reason to Embrace Hard Knocks Carolina Panthers get undrafted sleeper Reggie Bonnafon Los Angeles Rams undrafted sleeper: LB Tegray Scales As a matter of fact, it felt rare to see him playing in the box at all. After working very closely on a number of Iowa games this past season, I noticed an interesting trend about Niemann and the Hawkeyes in general. It didn’t matter what kind of offense Iowa was facing — they rarely took Niemann off the field and would utilize him almost as a nickel defensive back. Niemann didn’t always line up directly opposite slot receivers, but he would split out extremely wide and often play well away from the box. Because of that, Niemann’s numbers as a tackler weren’t wild — he finished his Hawkeyes career with 199 and a career-high 77 this past season — but he still managed to make plays behind the line of scrimmage with 16 tackles for loss, and he really made an impact in coverage. He had nine pass breakups over the past two seasons and two interceptions. I think Niemann will make it very difficult for the Chiefs to cut him when the time comes. He’s got all the tools needed to make an impact at the next level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkuenn 3,607 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Still wish we had taken Jewell but Ben is a good guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mloe68 1,521 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 He’s not gonna make the team as an OLB in our scheme. His shot would have to come as the Sam linebacker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith13 1,746 Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 He’s not gonna make the team as an OLB in our scheme. His shot would have to come as the Sam linebacker. That's more of a need at this point with KPass and Speaks playing outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHard 2,061 Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Agreed. There is opportunity behind Rags and Hitch. Just not much there for depth. I think O’Daniel be be seen as a tweeter destined for the Dirty Dan role. Eligwe has promise but is very unproven. ILB is wide open for the backup spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mloe68 1,521 Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Agreed. There is opportunity behind Rags and Hitch. Just not much there for depth. I think O’Daniel be be seen as a tweeter destined for the Dirty Dan role. Eligwe has promise but is very unproven. ILB is wide open for the backup spots. The more I read about O’Daniel, the more I think he can develop into a difference maker for us in that diverse role. Kind of the defenses version of DMC, DAT and then Tyreek. Took us three tries to get that right. Have a feeling we just did again. We will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHard 2,061 Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Yeah, I am excited to see him. We run so many sub packages that he should get plenty of snaps. If we are going to pull a lineman it would be great to have a LB type guy that can cover come in at 220+ than a 190 pound DB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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