:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/17846471/20130605_ajl_sm8_197.0.jpg)
Dontari Poe was noticeable on Friday night against thew New Orleans Saints. Hardly any of us are experts when it comes to evaluating defensive linemen but we do know when a player jumps out at you on TV and Dontari Poe, the Kansas City Chiefs second year nose tackle, did just that in the first preseason game last Friday night.
I have dreamed about having a nose tackle for years. (I should probably talk to someone about my dreaming habits.) Back in 2009 and 2010, when the Chiefs were improving, we knew they were missing a gigantic piece in the middle. The Vince Wilforks and B.J. Rajis of the world were always players other teams had; not the Chiefs.
Maybe not anymore. Andy Reid was asked on 810 WHB this week if Poe can be a great player in the NFL and the answer was just great.
"I thought this before I came to Kansas City and I feel it even more so now that I would answer your question yes," Reid said in a long "yes" answer.
"He's a very large man. He's got phenomenal endurance. He's stronger than probably anybody on our team. He's very, very athletic and [earlier this week] he actually had an interception where he actually dove for a tipped ball and scooped it off the ground. I mean, it was unbelievable to watch that.
"He loves to play the game. He has a really good coach in Tommie Frazier who really respects the kid's athletic ability and natural talent. They're working on some things, the combinations in his rush game. When you run a 3-4 defense, that guy in the middle, that's kinda where you build everything off of, that nose guard. If he can plug up the middle, good things normally happy and he's able to do that."
As a friend who listened to the same interview pointed out to me, contrast that answer with what Reid said when asked about whether Jon Baldwin has made the team. "Nobody's made this team yet. That's not how we roll here."
It's safe to say that Dontari Poe has earned his spot on the Chiefs 53-man roster. The head coach gushing over you = very good sign.