Tershawn Wharton Has Become a PIVITOL Piece to the Chiefs Defense
In his 5th year with the Chiefs, Wharton is playing his best ball ever at the perfect time.
In 2023 the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense was a major contributor to their Super Bowl repeat and overall success. It was the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era in which the defense was the clear strength of the team and the offense knew that. Going into 2024 the expectation is the offense is going to improve on last season but while that is happening the defense is still going to be under pressure to carry their own weight.
One of the biggest hurdles for the Chiefs’ replicating a similar level of play was figuring out how the pass rush would function without having a healthy Charles Omenihu for a significant chunk of the regular season. Chris Jones was - and is - exceptional but someone needed to step-up, particularly as a secondary pass rusher for this team. George Karlaftis through three weeks has continued his consistent, quality play but the Chiefs need another dynamic rusher and they may have him.
The thought for replacing Omenihu was mostly at the defensive end position but it’s a defensive tackle that has stepped up the most early on this year. That player is none other than Tershawn Wharton, who finally looks 100% healthy have a knee injury in the 2022 season. Not only does Wharton look as athletic as pre-injury but also bigger and stronger which has shown out on the field. It’s only three games so far but the early returns for Wharton are sky high and have given Jones a fantastic running mate on the interior. Let’s take a look at the film!
Tershawn “Turk” Wharton Film Review
Turk Wharton is currently third on the Chiefs’ with 9 pressures despite seeing the most snaps on the team as a true “interior” defensive lineman. Despite consistently working in tight spaces near the most blockers, he gotten pressure on 9.7% of his pass rush attempts. Becoming this reliable third rusher - oftentimes the second quickest to record a pressure - has been a great outcome for a Chiefs’ pass rush that’s missing their anticipated second best rusher in Omenihu.
What’s even more impressive is how Wharton has maintained his “trump card” of athleticism as a rusher, while adding size and strength to improve his run defense. The Chiefs still probably don’t want to center their run defense around him but he’s a quality player in that regard compared to earlier in his career. The extra power has also shown up in his counter rush plan making it the perfect mix for a breakout type of season for Wharton.
Pass Rush
Wharton’s best trait as a player has been his explosion and quickness for an interior rusher. Whether in a straight line or the space he covers laterally, he’s a matchup nightmare for a lot of interior blockers with how quickly he can eat up space in a condensed area.
Explosion
It’s been nice to see this type of first-step speed back in Wharton bag because it didn’t quite look the same while coming back from injury. When aligned over the shoulder of a blocker, they have to commit to cutting off his path with a good jump or he has the kind of speed that ends the rep quickly.