Kansas City Chiefs Desperately Need Dontari Poe at His Best

August 4, 2015   ·   Cian Fahey   ·   Jump to comments

Dontari Poe is one of the toughest players to replace in the NFL.
The Kansas City Chiefs defender plays a role that is dying in today's pass-heavy NFL. He is a run-stuffing nose tackle who can man multiple gaps. The role is dying because of the growing prevalence of nickel packages that don't rely on nose tackles. Nose tackles are typically too heavy to rush the passer.
While Poe is very heavy, he's also very athletic. That allows him to remain on the field for an unnatural amount of time, acting as an effective pass-rusher in nickel packages.
According to Football Outsiders, Poe played over 1,000 snaps last year. Playing over 1,000 snaps in an NFL season is a phenomenal achievement—which becomes even more impressive when you're playing one of the more physically draining and violent positions in the sport.
In 2014, Poe was one of eight defensive linemen to play over 1,000 snaps. He was the only defensive tackle to achieve that feat, though. How can that achie...

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