The defensive line has always been the backbone of defensive success for the Kansas City Chiefs. Whether it was Buck Buchanan, Derrick Thomas, or Tamba Hali rushing the passer, the defensive line has always featured a strong pass rush.
Heading into this season, the team had some big questions along the defensive line to answer. They used free agency and the draft to potentially answer those questions. They also could have an answer in a veteran member of the defensive line as Mike Danna is poised to take a step forward in his development in 2022.
Danna is entering his third season in Kansas City and has shown steady improvement throughout his career. In 2021, he played all 17 regular season games and started in six. As he enters a pivotal season, Danna has spent the offseason focusing on various aspects of his game that he thinks will make him a better player when it comes to rushing the passer.
“Making the game slow down, man in the sense of pre-snap keys, o-line indicators, working my eyes,” Danna told reporters on Monday. “Then from fundamentals and technique, I did a lot of pass rushing. A lot of flipping the hips, worked on a lot of power. It’s a combo of things and also from the run standpoint, anchoring down. Being able to hunch your feet, play the box, read blocks. But the biggest thing for me was just reading pre-snap keys so I can get a jump on the snap or, you know, an advantage when it comes to the snap of the ball.”
During the team’s first padded training camp practice on Monday, Danna had plenty of work with the first team defense alongside Frank Clark and Chris Jones. He had some successful pass-rushing snaps too.
Still saw a lot of Mike Danna running with the 1s. Did notice that he got in Mahomes' face a couple times. #ChiefsCamp
— Wes Roesch (@WesleyRoesch) August 1, 2022
The 24-year-old appears ready to prove he deserves consistent playing time in the edge rush rotation. The addition of veteran pass rusher Carlos Dunlap will make things tougher on Danna, but it will also push everyone on the team to step their game up in order to secure more time on the field.
