The Kansas City Chiefs selected Michigan DE Mike Danna with their fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He will add depth to a Chiefs defensive line after the departure of Emmanuel Ogbah and presumed departure of current free agent Terrell Suggs.
Here are three things to know about the Kansas City Chiefs’ newest defensive end:
Danna spent three seasons playing at Central Michigan
Before transferring to Michigan during his senior season, Danna spent three seasons playing for Central Michigan. During that time, he accumulated 151 total tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, and 15 sacks. He wouldn’t become a premier player for the Wolverines, only accumulating 38 tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks. Perhaps coach Jim Harbaugh used Danna wrong and Chiefs defensive line coach Brendan Daly see’s a path to more production in the NFL?
He’s not your classic Spagnuolo defensive end
Danna was a surprise pick for the Chiefs because he isn’t the type of player Steve Spagnuolo likes at the defensive end spot. He is listed at 6-2 and 261 pounds and has shorter arms. That is much smaller than the defensive ends that Kansas City already has on the roster, and historically, Spags likes length in his defensive ends. Danna is still super athletic profile matching the Chiefs’ draft plan with a vertical jump of around 41-45 inches. We’ll see if he’s able to pick up where he left off at Michigan, making plays in the backfield.
He was expected to go undrafted
Many expected Danna to go undrafted, including our own Draft Wire. Danna didn’t get much playing time with the Wolverines. His play at Central Michigan came against the MAC conference. There was limited information on him already before he was snubbed a combine invite, so the Chiefs must have seen something in him that they really liked. Danna is a bit of a project, but he won’t need to succeed right away with Frank Clark and Alex Okafor entrenched as starters.
