The Kansas City Chiefs got a ton of terrible news today as they found out that their franchise player Justin Houston has an ACL that is not functioning properly. He is expected to miss 6-12 months, which puts his 2016 NFL regular season in tremendous jeopardy.
Houston has been the heart and soul of this Kansas City defense since 2011 and recently signed a mega deal that keeps him with the Chiefs well into the future. Houston has already recorded 265 combined tackles, 56 sacks, a safety, 25 pass defenses, three interceptions, and eight forced fumbles in his career with the Chiefs.
At 27, Houston is still pretty young but an ACL issue could soon hinder his productivity tremendously. The Chiefs did re-sign Tamba Hali so that fortifies one half of the defensive line however finding a quality left outside linebacker in the 2016 NFL Draft should now become a priority for the Chiefs.
Houston's injury is severe but even the details on that are unknown so Kansas City should be cautious and draft Houston's replacement in the upcoming draft. Looking at the top prospects at outside linebacker there are really only three the Chiefs could really focus on Myles Jack, Darron Lee and Leonard Floyd.
Jack out of UCLA is the best linebacker in the draft and would be a top five pick if not for an unforeseen injury that knocked him down a couple of spots. Jack should be medically ready to play by the time the 2016 season rolls around and that's good news for his draft value.
Darron Lee from Ohio State is the highest rated, healthy linebacker in the draft and should see his value soar thanks to Jaylon Smith and Jack's injuries. Jaylon Smith would have been a top 10 pick overall as well if not for a brutal injury that currently has put his NFL career in jeopardy.
The very last prospect the Chiefs could target in the first round is Leonard Floyd out of Georgia. Floyd will likely be the last linebacker drafted in the first round and he could very well end up on the Chiefs. With the 28th overall pick, the Chiefs will have to find the best linebacker available pretty late into the first round to make up for Houston's absence.
