Arrowhead Pride
The idea of Sanders playing next to Chris Jones could be intriguing to the Chiefs.
The Kansas City Chiefs need bodies in their defensive line room.
At defensive tackle, the Chiefs only have two proven options on the roster: soon-to-be 34-year-old Mike Pennel at nose tackle and Chris Jones. The Chiefs have more continuity at defensive end with Charles Omenihu, George Karlaftis, Mike Danna and Felix Anudike-Uzomah in his third year. Still, they could use more juice at defensive end as well.
Because they lack depth in the room, it is easier to draft players because the Chiefs don’t have to chase body types. With little depth in the reservoir, the Chiefs can look at different skill sets because they don’t have anyone above them who does the same thing.
What I want Kansas City to prioritize is getting to the quarterback more often. Last season, the Chiefs' pass rush wasn’t great. Jones was still fantastic, Tershawn Wharton had a great season and Karlaftis was solid, but outside of Jones, the Chiefs lacked players who could get quick pressures. They have a need for more explosive pass rushers, especially with Wharton gone.
If they’re looking for pass rush on the interior, I’d say South Carolina’s T.J. Sanders might be one of the better values available.
Here’s what you need to know about Sanders:
Coming out of high school, Sanders was a three-star recruit. His recruiting profile had him listed at 6-5 and 275 lbs., which is more of a defensive end body type. Sanders had some decent Power 5 offers from Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and Duke — but nothing from the elite programs. Sanders ended up choosing South Carolina, where he played four years.
Sanders would redshirt his freshman season and not play much his first two seasons, but he’s been a breakout over the past two years. In 2023, the flashes of pass-rush potential started to show. In 260 pass-rush snaps, Sanders had 27 pressures and five sacks — a solid 10.4% pressure rate, which is good for a 20-year-old.
His best season was last year. Sanders had 255 pass rush reps in 2024 and increased his pressures to 33 with five sacks again — a 12.9% pressure rate. Sanders was voted second-team All-SEC by the Associated Press and won the College Football Network’s SEC Interior Defender of the Year award.
Sanders is more of a pass rusher than a run defender. In 2023, he played 211 run snaps vs. 260 pass rush snaps. In 2024, it was 212 run snaps vs. 255 pass rush snaps. Sanders had his usage limited on early downs and then would come in on third downs and wreak havoc.
Sanders came in at the Combine at 6’3 7/8” and 297 lbs with over 33-inch arms — good numbers for a player thought to be undersized. His 4.95 40-yard dash with a 1.67 10-yard split are great numbers. A 31.5” vertical jump with a 9’4 broad jump are strong explosiveness scores....
