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Football is the most beautiful sport there is, in part because
of how complex it is. Every play contains dozens of small stories, and it’s
impossible to follow them all during a broadcast viewing. So every week at The
Athletic, I’ll break down the big finds I see on film from each game and some
tidbits that might have been missed. And, of course, Patrick Mahomes.
Ben Niemann didn’t seem like part of the plan.
The second-year linebacker out of Iowa managed to make the
roster last year after signing as an undrafted free agent. He saw limited
action due to injuries to the linebacker group, but quickly faded into the
background and special teams once the unit returned to health. With the Chiefs
bringing in Darron Lee and Damien Wilson this offseason, there didn’t appear to
be a significant role on the defense for Niemann in 2019.
That has changed over the
last several weeks, as Niemann has started to see snaps on obvious passing
downs as both games wore on. It happened first against Oakland in Week 2, and
the trend continued against the Ravens. Niemann didn’t see the field until
midway through the second quarter but was able to immediately make a subtle
impact.
Note
the role Niemann plays here, threatening blitz at the line of scrimmage then
quickly dropping into coverage once the ball is snapped. The Chiefs used him repeatedly
in this fashion, and it’s workable because he has excellent lateral mobility
and can drop quickly into a zone. He’s able to take away the seam
initially, then sees the ball go underneath and helps Tyrann Mathieu converge
on the receiver and stop him well short of the first down marker.
Niemann was used almost exclusively as a pass defender on
Sunday, often in this role. The
Chiefs don’t appear satisfied with what they’ve seen from their other
linebackers on obvious passing downs, and Niemann looks to be a great fit to
fill the role. He’s got excellent athleticism and appears very instinctive in
coverage.
On
this play, Niemann is asked to carry the slot receiver up the field for a short
time in order to prevent a quick throw. He once again is very comfortable
backpedaling and gets good depth quickly, making a throw there almost
impossible. As the play drags out, he keeps his eyes on the quarterback to stay
aware of where the ball might go or the risk of a scramble.
Something that separates
Niemann in coverage is that he seems to stay aware of receivers’ locations even
as he watches the quarterback. Here, he moves inside briefly to take
away a throw up the seam, then moves back toward the sideline. When he sees the
quarterback looking back to his side of the field, he gets even more depth to
account for where his receiver has gone. By doing so, he brackets the receiver
very effectively, and when the throw comes, he does a nice job playing on where
the ball would be if it weren’t placed too high.
The job of any coverage
defender is to force a great throw/catch for a completion to take place, and
Niemann does that. He consistently carried routes up the field perfectly and
protected the intermediate middle zone very well. He also stayed
aware of the shallow portion of the field and swarmed quickly to the ball when
a throw was made, including on an important stop on 3rd-and-13 that led to a
Baltimore punt.
Niemann was only on the field for a few run plays, but he didn’t
appear comfortable when asked to take on blockers or track where a runner was
heading. As such, he’s unlikely to take significant snaps away from the Chiefs’
primary linebackers. However, his range and instincts in zone coverage are a marked improvement over
what the Chiefs have had in the middle of the field the past few seasons, and
his ability has been a big part of the pass defense looking better over the
last two games. Keep an eye on his role moving forward.
