Latest news with #MikeDanna
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chiefs 2026 scouting report: Northwestern Wildcats DE Anto Saka
The Kansas City Chiefs lose significant depth in their defensive end room over the next two years. During that time, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Mike Danna, Malik Herring, Charles Omenihu and B.J. Thompson become free agents. The Chiefs should add more pass rush help through the 2026 NFL draft. Northwestern's Anto Saka battled an injury during the second half of last season, but he posted several eye-catching performances in September and October. Saka is an undersized but explosive and powerful rusher capable of posting quick wins around the edge or beating offensive tackles with inside counters. Saka's pass rush plan includes speed rushes, converting speed to power, chops, long-arms, rips, spins, swims and two-handed swipes. He uses speed to power to force the B-gap open and punishes offensive tackles for oversetting by crossing their faces. Saka is aggressive and punches above his weight as a pass rusher. Saka's rush plan is still developmental. He relies heavily on a few moves and doesn't have a polished bag of hand counters or secondary rush moves to deploy once his initial attack stalls. With under 400 career defensive snaps, it's not surprising that Saka's rush plan is a work in progress. His career snap total should more than double in 2025, giving him essential experience to carry into his rookie season. Many explosive edge rushers in the 2026 NFL draft project best as designated pass rushers who rotate in on late downs. Saka might begin his career in this role, but he possesses true three-down potential to become a full-time NFL starter. Saka's burst and motor make him a threat to chase down ball carriers as a backside run defender. His gap integrity and block shedding are still developing, but Saka's violent and powerful upper body makes him difficult for blockers to contain. He stacks blocks with a long-arm and drives his legs to force offensive linemen backward, compressing interior run lanes. This coming season determines Saka's final draft positioning since he doesn't have much tape from previous seasons to fall back on. However, his previous flashes, including sacks against Graham Barton, Julian Pearl and Caedan Wallace in 2023, hint that he's a future second or third round selection. This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: 2026 NFL draft scouting report: Northwestern Wildcats DE Anto Saka
USA Today
28-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kansas City Chiefs DL Mike Danna reflects on the defense finishing games last season
At Sunday's training camp press conference, Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Mike Danna reflected on the unit's performance in finishing games during the previous season and building for the 2025 season. "Man, we're trying to finish, we're trying to finish. Trying to raise another Lombardi (Trophy). You know, just finish games, man. When it comes late into that fourth quarter, that's why we're out here working," said Danna, "When it is hot, when we do these long drive drills, we're trying to finish these games out on top, because every single game is a shootout, every single game is a competition, man. It is always going to (a) one score game. So, we're trying to finish games (and) condition ourselves out here. So, when it comes time for that point, you know, where we can excel." The Chiefs' defense has continued to be a significant part of the team's success, contributing to the record-breaking 15 regular-season victories in 2024. In his five regular-season campaigns with Kansas City, Danna has logged 35 starts and tallied 169 combined tackles, 20.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and five passes defensed.
