First look at the film of new Chiefs safety Jordan Lucas

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach knows that his team is low in the waiver order.

If he and his staff like a player, they’re going to have to make moves before roster cuts. First, it was trading Parker Ehinger for Charvarius Ward, and now it’s Dolphins’ safety Jordan Lucas.

Lucas, a 2016 sixth-round pick, ran a reported 4.45 second forty yard dash at his pro day at Penn State. While his career has been mostly relegated to special teams work, he did get a few snaps on defense last season.

The Chiefs must have liked what they saw from his performance against the Atlanta Falcons last night.

I sprinted down to the Lab in the basement of AP Headquarters and took a quick look at the newest addition to the roster. The Nerd Squad has you covered. Here are a few of his plays from Thursday:

Safety Armani Watts wasn’t the only one getting interceptions last night. Lucas got one off a deflection on the first play of the third quarter in last night’s game. Nevermind that the Chiefs traded a draft pick for a guy who was playing the last half of preseason football. Good job to get to that ball though.

The Chiefs love versatility from the safety group. They like players that can play single high and get some work down in the box. Lucas shows the ability to do both making a play on the cutback on an outside zone run away from him. It also looks like he was communicating an adjustment to the linebackers when he dropped down into the box late.

Interception, a tackle for loss and a sack last night by Lucas. Good job to adjust his route and avoid the running back after he stepped to take him in pass protection.

Lucas looks like he’s playing very deep here—like Jabrill Peppers deep. This a good close and a form tackle on the vertical by the tight end.

The bottom line

Lucas is the 52nd or 53rd man on this roster.

He showed promise in last night’s performance, and the Chiefs obviously think enough of him and his special teams ability to trade a draft asset for him.

I would imagine this is Leon McQuay’s replacement. We’ll see if he’s able to carve out a role in Kansas City.