The Kansas City Chiefs were one of the league’s top defenses last season. Overall, Kansas City leaned on that unit in last year’s playoff push and playoff run to secure a second straight Super Bowl win. One player that missed the final part of that run was safety Bryan Cook. In a disappointing Chiefs loss in Green Bay, Cook ended up getting his foot caught in the ground and suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury.

Without his tenacity on the back end, veteran Mike Edwards stepped up during the playoff run. He tallied an interception in the Wild Card round against the Miami Dolphins. And with the win over the San Francisco 49ers in February, Edwards became a two-time Super Bowl champion. But even with some steady play from Edwards, the Chiefs missed a certain element and play style from Bryan Cook that is difficult to replace.

What does Cook’s return mean for the Chiefs defense, as a result? With varied expectations, how will that affect the safety room of Kansas City, as a whole? In reality, there should not be much pressure on the shoulders of Bryan Cook amid his return.

Cook as Another Heat-Seeking Missile

Bryan Cook entered the NFL as arguably one of the hardest hitting safeties of his draft class. Along with that side of his game, the instincts of Cook were on full display at both Cincinnati and so far with the Chiefs. When watching his college tape, he just appeared to have great eye discipline and a stellar nose for the football. The anticipation that he displays has been an underrated element of his young NFL career.

Now in this year’s draft class, the Chiefs added a similar defensive back in Jaden Hicks. The fourth-round rookie brings a dense frame with a hard-hitting nature. And even in limited snaps so far this preseason, the attacking mentality of Hicks has already come to fruition. There is still a fine amount of body control that he applies to his game, despite the bone-chilling hits that can be delivered. And just like Bryan Cook, Jaden Hicks can act as a true heat-seeking missile on the back end of the Kansas City defense.

No Need To Worry About Physicality

Beyond Bryan Cook and Jaden Hicks, the Chiefs have done a fine job of building a safety room that plays how you would like defensive backs to play. They are tough. They are not afraid to get in your face. And most of all, the physicality of this safety group is something that can be enforced out of the gate each week. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo truly has a lot of his own “guys” now in place on the defense. And with the current safety group, Kansas City can employ the exact brand of defense that punishes opponents.

Because of that play style being evident throughout the entire safety depth chart, Bryan Cook can truly return with some comfortability. It could certainly take some time to get his footing and timing back, so to speak. However, Cook is not going to be forced to be the only real enforcer of this group. Justin Reid had one of his best career seasons last year, playing sound, tough defense. But even with him missing time in training camp, Kansas City can immediately lean on Hicks, if necessary. Then, you have the versatile Chamarri Conner that can act as a tone-setter in multiple defensive positions. We also know that Deon Bush can fill in at any moment as well.

Because of Cook’s return, the Chiefs will have a plethora of ways to possibly punish opposing offenses. Cook has historically been able to frustrate tight ends and helps soundly in run support. With his lengthy recovery complete, Kansas City will likely not hold back in letting him fly around like he has in the past.

Will Cook Return In Same Usage?

With the Chiefs losing L’Jarius Sneed this offseason, the versatility of players like Conner will come in handy greatly at the beginning of the year. Bryan Cook is likely anticipated to receive the same usage that he enjoyed last year. Before suffering his injury, he tallied 592 defensive snaps, good enough for 79 percent of the defensive snaps on the Chiefs defense.

Cook can still be counted on as a deep safety or flex into the box, if need be. There could even be somewhat of a ramp up for someone like Reid coming off his injury during training camp. If so, the Chiefs could split Cook’s snaps at strong safety and free safety. This could lead to a heavy amount of snaps out of the gate. And in turn, this would give Bryan Cook an immediate chance to pick up where he left off before his disappointing injury.