Turk Wharton having himself a nice year so far
 

Low key one of the big parts of the defense this year. Dude has done a nice job pushing IOL into the QB and winning 1v1’s.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨Holy shit alert🚨: Tershawn Wharton is currently 3rd among all NFL starting DTs in pass-rush win rate at 16.1%. He&#39;s winning at a higher rate than Dexter Lawrence and Vita Vea right now. The KC D-line has desperately needed him to step up and he&#39;s more than delivered.</p>&mdash; Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arrowhead_Adam/status/1844031049812373614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

he’s always shown flashes of being able to get to the qb but he’s def been particularly good this season. our DL coaches are good

also chris jones be making dudes look good

Stud

Yeah, he's been great. Totally unexpected. With the attention Jones receives, you'd think anyone who is a legit NFL DT would have success playing next to him. Wharton is reaping the benefit this season.

Yeah he appears strong

The little things that make all the difference when it comes to winning huge games

Now imagine how much better we'd be if FAU actually stepped up on the edge. O-lines would be getting destroyed up the middle and on both ends.

When do we get Omenihu back?

That interior pass rush is as good as it ****ing gets.

About a month ago, I thought I saw something that stated that he might be back by Week 8 in Vegas.

He’s been kicking so much ass this year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tershawn Wharton was a problem last night <a href="https://t.co/SyDLYN2vNI">pic.twitter.com/SyDLYN2vNI</a></p>&mdash; . (@BrandonThornNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThornNFL/status/1832071282835243446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tershawn Wharton beats the overset inside with a cross chop/club. Wharton rips, penetrates &amp; gets to Carr for the sack! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PassRush?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PassRush</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChiefsKingdom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChiefsKingdom</a> <a href="https://t.co/XXtdEAr19h">pic.twitter.com/XXtdEAr19h</a></p>&mdash; DLineVids (@dlinevids1) <a href="https://twitter.com/dlinevids1/status/1843476367754866697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Still only 26, so just entering his prime too. Hope we can bring him back.

Wharton, Pennel, Jones.

Imagine if Omenihu was healthy, or FAU took the next step.

Yeah when Omenihu comes back this d line is gonna wreck faces

Our DT situation is so much better than I expected.

I wish but I think they’re gonna pour a lot of money into Trey, Bolton and McDuffie

FAU is getting more snaps every game and is making plays finally. Looking way better than last year.

Whilst I'd agree to some extent with both of those points, his snap count is probably only higher because Omenihu is out. Despite Danna being bad, FAU is still only getting around 20% of defensive snaps (bar the game Danna was out for). Here's the snap counts for both the beginning of thie 2024 season and the end of last season:

https://i.postimg.cc/8kRqFF5z/Screen...009-191750.png

https://i.postimg.cc/nrVbVZqk/Screen...009-191821.png

If FAU doesn't start seeing his snaps significantly increase at the expense of Danna's by the time Omenihu gets back then his snap percentage will almost certainly go back to less than 10%, which is pretty disappointing considering he's a first round pick. I get that it often takes DEs longer to adjust to the NFL but if he's barely on the field then that becomes harder.

100% This could end up being a legacy type defense if Charles is even 90% of his previous self.

I pretty much agree, but his snaps last year were bad snaps, this year he is playing fairly decent when he's in there. Night and Day better than last year.

I thought Danna looked terrific against the Saints, especially against the run. Were we watching different games?

So ol’ what’s-his-ass DE that we got from the Cardinals…

He’s like in his 3rd year and needs to be redshirted? Or something?

I think Pennell being as good as he's been has actually helped Wharton.

It keeps teams behind the sticks and lets Wharton do what he's best at - get after the passer.

He reminds be a bit of Rakeem Nunes-Roches. RNR didn't have any interest at all in run defense (Wharton is better than him in that regard) but really did seem to have a knack for getting after the passer.

When you let Wharton just go in there with fresh legs and eat in the middle, he shows a ton of juice. He always has, but wasn't able to do it as often because guys like Nnadi let the opponent stay in more favorable down/distance situations.

That's kinda it, though.

He's solid against the run but he's a complete non-factor against the pass.

What you'd love to see is the same thing at RDE that we're getting at NT. Pennell in rushing downs, a fresh Wharton to rush the passer in passing downs.

If you could get that from Danna and FAU, you'd be in fantastic shape over there. FAU has gotten a little better but he's still not much over there. You'd just like to see more, especially if/when used situationally.

That NO OL was a disaster, but Turk has been a very nice surprise this year. His speed is a real problem for teams.

Quietly, Karlaftis has been pretty damn mid...

Jones/Wharton have saved our asses in the pass-rush department from the DL. Without the push they're getting, the edges would really be causing us problems.

We lack speed at DE. It SHOULD be FAU but his bizarre get off negates his one obvious strength.

He has a move that works, that's for sure.

He really seems to only use the bull rush to set up that swipe move. I've seen him use a rip a time or two as well.

Would like to see him use a sort of club/swim combo on occasion to keep guys from sitting on that swipe, but hey, he's clearly developed a fair bit.

I'm glad someone sees this with Karlaftis. I think he's been solid but he really ain't pulling up trees. Would be interested in his pressure and win rates because he just doesn't win fast all that often imo.

Yeah that's exactly it. I think he's still mainly winning because his lateral agility is too much for IOLs, but combine that with maybe a little improvement in that swipe timing and the bull rush as a set up and it's enough to see a general improvement.

And if you could add a club/swim combo to it, they'd have to stay centered and can't start anticipating the swipe. And if they do and you have that rip, you can start to use that stutter step to get them moving laterally then beat them back across their body with a rip.

It's an adjustment league - guys will adjust. And he has some tools to deal with those adjustments.

But he ain't gonna live on that swipe forever. The swipe is good, but it ain't Reggie White good. He can't go out there like Trevor Hoffman living off a mediocre fastball to set up one of the best changeups the world has ever seen. He doesn't have THAT kind of change.

He has a good one. A putaway pitch if guys have to stay conscious of other stuff. All he needs is something of a show-me curveball to keep guys honest.

Then he's essentially Michael Wacha. And that'll play for a long time.

A couple issues imo. Playing more two point standing up as a 3/4 OLB. His weight was likely lighter for coverage drops. Back to practicing fully with the DL. And of course getting used to the new system. Lots of thinking with the amount of blitzing and bluffing as well as stunts. He’s going to fit in well imo. Herring gets the game day nod because he’s been in the system and has been gradually improving since last year. Long term Cam has a higher ceiling. Marlon Tuipulotu and Thomas being inactive just shows how good of shape the group is in as far as depth goes. Pennel I think they can afford later in the season to give him a game off here and there to manage having him rested for the playoffs.

Danna has calf issues every year and it’s likely from playing so much inside on pass downs and his strength being in a technical/effort rusher rather than a speed guy. Going back to college he has a bunch of snaps in the 245-257 lb range and no wonder it leads to these calf pulls and strains. Just the nature of the beast when he’s constantly giving up 50+ lbs to his opponent

Major understatement but you have to love how Joe Cullen gets the best out of each individual he coaches. Can’t mention it enough

I was glad to see that we didn't lose him as a free agent. But I wish that they had locked him up for 3-4 years instead of just a one year deal. The way he's playing, he'll leave as a free agent next year. We got a good reminder on Monday night about the last developing young defensive lineman that be let walk. I hated losing Saunders.

Spags loves Turk- played a ton of snaps yesterday with Chris Jones out. He’s having a real nice year. I’d love to sign him to an extension but he’ll definitely looking for a big payday

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GfubVaMX...jpg&name=large

Go Miners.

I frown every time I see snap counts and Chenal is so low.

He good. He's an integral part of what we do.

Those Rolla football players always outperform their expectations.

i'm hoping his time explodes in the post season.

Chenal seems like one they fear could get overexposed with alot of playing time.

His playing time is more dictated by the style of team you are playing and the situation in games.

He will play more against teams like the Ravens and Bills.

This guy has turned out to be a really nice find. Been making an impact on both run D and pass rush. He's about to get a well deserved raise.

Really hope we can sign Wharton to an extension- one of the more underrated players on the defense. He really flashed last year and is an ascending player. Get it done Veach!

Can we resign him, please.

Yep. He'd be my top-priority internal FA on defense. He's just hitting his prime now and has really become a good player.

Proved me wrong when we brought him back this year. I wasn't against the move since it wasn't that much money, but I just didn't want this to be our only solution in shoring up the interior of the DL.

Damn, he was good this season.

I'd let him hit the market and try to get him back. I think we should've done that with Saunders and Gay as well when their markets didn't come together well (instead we decided to overpay for Danna when his didn't).

I like Wharton and would like to retain him but I'm fine letting the market set for him. I don't want to be paying him Danna money and I think he'd absolutely demand that to keep from testing the market.