Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City Chiefs’ linebacker Leo Chenal has always set a high standard for himself — and now, he’s holding his teammates to that same high bar. After last week’s frustrating 33-16 preseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Chenal didn’t hold back.
“Oh yeah, the whole team felt it,” Chenal said of the defeat, in which the Seahawks rushed for 268 yards. “Coaches, players — all of us — are pretty upset with ourselves following that game. The best we can do is remember how we felt after that game, prepare ourselves the best we can and have some good momentum going forward.”
For Chenal, that improvement starts with himself. Since Kansas City acquired him in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, he has steadily carved out a role as one of the league’s top run defenders alongside Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill. In 2024, he appeared in all 17 regular-season games — starting 14 of them — while recording 60 tackles, three forced fumbles and three passes defended.
Now entering his fourth season, the hard-hitting linebacker is pushing to become more than just a rotational piece in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit. The Chiefs are counting on him to step into a larger role — one as a reliable pass rusher with more responsibility beyond early-down usage.
“I personally need to do a lot better job of getting to the quarterback when I’m put in those positions on the edge — because they trust me,” Chenal admitted. “They want me to be out there, but they want to be able to say, ‘We’re going to take out an edge rusher that we trust. Is [the linebacker] going to do just as good or better?‘ So that’s something I’ve really pushed myself on.”
After finishing last season with just one sack, Chanel put in extra work during training camp to sharpen that part of his game. Between seven-on-seven sessions, he’s jumped into one-on-ones with offensive linemen to replicate pass-rushing situations.
“I think that’s been a big help,” Chenal noted, “just getting those reps against those guys — where we know it’s a passing down and I’m blitzing. To get those extra reps is huge.”
During his college days at Wisconsin, Chenal’s best rushes came while he was working on the inside. Now, he’s refining his ability to win off the edge. He believes the extra work he’s putting in will improve his game in 2025.
“To get the actual reps off the edge is super helpful,” he declared. “It’s going to be super helpful to continue to learn from the guys that do it so well in front of me.”
Having gone to three straight Super Bowls to start his NFL career, Chenal is already one of the more experienced linebackers in the group. But he hasn’t forgotten about the young players fighting to make the roster. As they approach their final preseason game against the Chicago Bears on Friday, his counsel to them is simple.
“Just do your...
