One of the surprises for me in the Kansas City Chiefs first preseason game on Friday was Rakeem Nunez-Roches. The KC Chiefs defensive lineman looked strong out there. He wasn’t getting washed away and generally seemed to hold his own. He’s had flashes before but he just seemed more consistent in his 26 snaps.
So, what happened? He got bigger.
“The biggest thing was weight,” the player they call Nacho said. “There was a lot of things I could do off the ball being lighter. I was always fast and agile and explosive, but anytime I was hit in my hip, I would go flying. So I was like, ‘If I just add a little more in the lower half, I will be OK.’
“Offseason, I emphasized in that area and gained a good amount of weight, 25 pounds. I started to run with it, condition with it, and see how I could move with it and it has worked out pretty good.”
He’s up to 310 pounds. He said last year he started off at 290 and got to around 280 so that’s a pretty significant jump up. The Chiefs suddenly have a bunch of young talent along the defensive line from Nunez-Roches to Tanoh Kpassagnon to Chris Jones.