Drue Tranquill, Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker

Alrighty, rocking and rolling, it is the Zach Gelb show, coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio.

The Kansas City Chiefs, death, taxes, and the Chiefs being in the AFC title game for their sixth straight year. They are in the AFC title game going up against the Baltimore Ravens this time and headed on the road to go to Baltimore this Sunday. Drew Tranquil has been a part of the Chargers organization from 2019 to 2022.

In this past off season, elected to sign on board with the Kansas City Chiefs and he should be playing a major factor in this AFC title game and he's kind enough to jump on board with us right now. Drew, first off, congratulations. Always appreciate your time. Thanks so much for doing this and how you been? Zach, I've been great.

It's good to see you again and hope everything's well on your end, man. Super excited. Obviously my first time in the AFC title game, but there's a lot of energy, a lot of good vibes around the building and we're excited to go play a really good football team in Baltimore. Yeah, how is this for you internally when you hear that the Chiefs are going to be in the AFC title game? Because nothing against the Chargers, but they just always have that feel of having a talented roster and just not getting the job done in the playoffs to now go to a team where the standard is every year to win a Super Bowl to be playing in this AFC title game on Sunday and knowing that that is now a reality.

Just what are the emotions that it elicits for you? Well, I know my wife and my little boy and my girls and myself were super excited. It'll be our first time, like I mentioned, but just a seasoned group, a group that's been. There's so much to learn from the coaches and the players in this building, and I'm certainly grateful to be a part of this team and organization, and there'll be a lot of good energy there on Sunday afternoon.

I got to take you back to the last round. Man, that was some scene in Buffalo last Sunday. What a classic game once again between the Bills and the Chiefs, but it looked like you were having some fun there at the end with the Bills Mafia fans that were throwing snowballs at you, which was just crazy.

Yeah, they were hurling them. I felt like a kid, man. It's one of those things where it's like, man, football is awesome.

It is so awesome. It unifies people in a way that not many things in life does, can do, and it was really cool to silence that crowd and get around. Obviously, their players were chirping a lot early in the week about home field advantage that sat in the other, and that's how fun they had to go there and win that game.

I think it really just brought us closer and helped us build more confidence as we keep this thing going here. Talking to Drew Tranquil right now from the Kansas City Chiefs. They're getting set to go up against the Ravens in the AFC title game on Sunday. The fake punt. I saw some inside the NFL clip that Nick Bolton was saying to you guys, be aware of the fake punt.

There's a possibility it was coming. I know you're on the field for it. Did you guys sense that that fake punt was going to happen, that the Bills elected to run on fourth and five with DeMar Hamlin? Well, I mean, you certainly sense that the offense is both on both sides were rolling and the defense is every stop you could get was critical and crucial, and so we were able to kind of bow up there, create a fourth and five, and certainly that's a situation when your antennas are up. Our guys, you know, we only had 10 guys on the field. I think that the guys that were in there, you know, we did a great job of recognizing it. Their communication was a little bit different than it was in their in their typical pump pro, and I think some guys picked up on that. We picked up on the snappers hands kind of a little softer on the ball and he kind of his touch on his snap was a was a little bit different, and so those subtle things right before the ball is snapped can kind of trigger you, but guys just executed well and we were able to get the stop there.

Yeah, I was kind of shocked that they elected to run it. I get what you're saying, and obviously you guys wish you had 11 guys on the field, but it didn't matter either way. Uh, but like I look at that, if you're going to go for it, you may as well just put the ball in the hands of Josh Allen and just line you up like I would rather have Josh Allen with the ball in his hands with 11 guys on the defense than running a fake punt, especially the way they ran it. I just thought it was such a low percentage play, even though you guys only had 10 guys on the field.

I was shocked by it. Yeah, well, I mean, we've been caught by a couple of fakes this year. Our punt team or our punt return team has we hit the Chargers a couple weeks ago on really a similar concept. We ran it to the right, I think. But you'd be surprised, man, that direct snap, especially when a when a team books you for being in a six or seven box.

I mean, they had to look. We had we had 10 guys on the field. I think we had five guys in the box. They certainly had the numbers and our guys just out physicaled and executed them.

We were able to kind of cut the edge off and make them cut it back. But, you know, the timing you can catch teams off guard and that that can be a special weapon. I know our team has certainly used it this season and we've used it in the past. And Coach Tobe really likes that play. But yeah, I mean, you've got a great quarterback in Josh Allen. I think when you put it out there in fourth and five and go for it, you know, I don't know what the percentages are there, but I think we had had three good snaps on defense back to back. So, you know, it's something if they hit it and they get it, you know, they're super smart.

And if they don't get it, it's it's something that's obviously going to be in question. I remember talking to your defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnola back in like week three. And I said, man, you guys really have something this year on defense. And I don't think you guys are getting enough national recognition and spags is like, that's right where we want them. Everyone focus on the offense. Just leave us alone. We'll keep on doing what we do.

How about the confidence of this group? Because in the second half, I know in the first half didn't exactly go your way, but really that second half to hold that Buffalo team to only one touchdown in the second half, the final 30 minutes of play is really a remarkable achievement. Well, I think we have great chemistry and confidence as a unit.

I think we've got a lot of guys with some experience, a lot of veteran leadership and a really player driven group that kind of just flies around. And so, you know, something that we've been great at all season is is making halftime adjustments. I think you look even in the Bengals game a few weeks ago, I think we gave up 17 points in the first half. The Chargers game comes to mind the first time we played them in your head.

I think week six or seven gave up 17 points. And then we've had really we've played really good second half defense. I think that's a testament to spags and our coaching staff, all the position coaches to, you know, huddling up and making the right adjustments at halftime. And then us as players not turning on each other and just kind of being unified and playing stout team unit defense in the second half, which we certainly did this past Sunday and needed to to win that game.

And so that's going to be really important, obviously, in Baltimore. You never know how these games go. I mean, we could get up two scores on them. You know, we talk about it every Saturday night before the game.

You got to be ready for the extremes. You can get up two scores and you got to keep the foot on the pedal or you could go down two scores and you can't start chirping at one another and turning on each other. You got to come together and start playing consistent unit defense. So that'll be important, whatever the outcome or however the game starts on Sunday for us. Drew Tranquil here with us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. I was watching Good Morning Football earlier this a.m. and they were doing a segment like underrated players that could play a major impact in the game on Sunday. And Peter Schrager brought you up. And I think he's dead on because of his athleticism. I think you're going to have a big role one way or another going up against Lamar and the Ravens.

So how do you kind of make about those comments and what could be asked of you this week up against Lamar and the Ravens. Well that's true. You're still there. I think we had trouble getting you there. You got what I said. What I said. Yeah.

Can you hear me Zach. Yeah. We got you now.

Go ahead. Yeah that's that's an honor. Peter's obviously great at what he does and I appreciate that praise from him. But man I look across our entire defense.

We've got speed across the board. You talk about myself. You talk about Willie Gay. You talk about Leo Chanel. Nick Bolton. You talk about Trent McDuffie. Lagerious Snead. Jalen Watson. Josh Williams.

Justin Reed. You know everybody in our secondary can fly around on our second levels. We got defensive ends that play well. So Lamar is obviously special. He can make people miss in the open field. But we're going to have some opportunities to make some big plays Sunday and we're going to do that when when the opportunity comes. You don't have to prepare to go up against Patrick Mahomes because he's your teammate.

You used to have to do that when you were at the Chargers. When you look at the rest of the league just because of that ability to run like no other and then also throw the football too that Lamar has. Is he the toughest quarterback for you in football to just prepare for? Well I haven't played him yet Zach but certainly when you look at the tape and what he's able to do throwing the ball, running the ball, everybody knows he's as dynamic a runner as there is in the NFL. Whether you want to talk about running backs or quarterbacks he's as dynamic as they come. He can make guys miss. He's got the speed, the top end speed to go the distance. But I think something that jumps out to me and our players and our coaches early on is how much he's developed in the pocket. His patience as a passer. His ability and willingness to take check downs when they come and not just run around. He's a great player.

He's going to be tough to stop. I know that you talked about this year and what it's like going from the Chargers to the Chiefs but after being right in the same division and going up against them for the last few years now to be in the same locker room as Mahomes and at Kelsey and learn from Andy Reed as a head coach. Just how was that initially when you first walked into that locker room going from enemy to I know it's part of the business to then just being one of them in Kansas City? Yeah it took time.

It was weird walking in the first day. It's like man what am I doing here. I've been going against these guys you know two times a year for the past four years. But slowly it's just become a brotherhood.

I mean those guys are really good friends of mine. The competitive greatness in this building. The competitive stamina to go through OTAs, through training camp, through a long preseason season and postseason year in and year out. I mean these guys really do strive to be the best and the best in the National Football League, the best in the world.

I've certainly learned a lot from the likes of Andy and Patrick and Travis and Chris. You go down the list of all the number of great players and coaches we have and even our ownership. You talk about Brett Beach in the front office.

Everybody's just kind of built different here and there's a championship culture and that takes time to build and you know they've obviously built it here and it's special when you get to be around it. So we always know the Chiefs are in the spotlight. When you're the team everyone's hunting you're going to get attention like no other and then all of a sudden Travis Kelce starts dating Taylor Swift and then that attention just gets put on steroids pretty much Drew Tranquil. What has that been like being in that locker room with all the extra attention now with the whole Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce relationship? It's interesting. You don't really feel it and hear too much of it inside the locker room but it'll be moments like at practice when Kunal our DJ turns on a Taylor Swift song and everybody kind of you know jokes about it.

I think the wives and the girlfriends. I hear about it more when I go home than I do actually in the building but it's been fun man. That's something to celebrate, something fun and we enjoy poking fun at Travis but it seems like maybe they're in love man. They got really something going and we enjoy having her at our games.

It brings a lot of energy and a lot of fun to our fans and so that's good for business, good for football and good for the NFL. You expected an invite to that wedding eventually right? We'll see man, we'll see. I think there's going to be a lot of people that want to go to that.

Absolutely. Before we let Drew Tranquil run, you talked a little bit about Mahomes. You know some people believe that he'll end up being the greatest quarterback of all time whenever it's all said and done. Just how about the greatness that you see day in and day out after going up against him for so many years and then now being a part of it, seeing it day in and day out in that locker room? Yeah I couldn't imagine being in his shoes and you know people talking about the greatest of all time and all the pressure that could be put on somebody like that but he man, he handles it with such grace and to be in the pressure cooker in those moments you go into Buffalo on your first you know road playoff game and everybody's oh can you do this, can you do that and to have the performance that he did. You know the moment never seems too big for him. He's super level-headed, he's consistent in everything he does from what he wears out to practice to his routines and I think whenever you have consistency in your routine like that and you have somebody who's as hungry and competitive as he is, you can have the competitive stamina and the competitive greatness to achieve the things that he's done.

Obviously it takes a special player and he is that but he's got all the intangible I think you know that you're looking for in terms of somebody being great so I'm glad he's on my team. Yeah I know that you're real focused on the AFC championship game and you know what happens if you guys win this you go to the Super Bowl like naturally do you find yourself throughout the week just like thinking man we win this game we're in the Super Bowl or it's just all the focus is only on the Ravens like when you get a moment just to yourself does that thought creep into your head wow we're really 60 minutes away from a Super Bowl. I mean I think it definitely fuels you I mean that's what you're striving for every week is your you know the end goal is to hoist that Lombardi trophy and every game is a step in that direction. I think the closer you get to it the more hungry you get but you know you learn as a competitor and as a player in this league the second you you look past even a moment or a drive a series or a half or a game like players are too good teams coaches are too good in this league and you'll get beat you really it's a it's a league where you have to focus on the present moment and if you don't you're going to find yourself in a lot of trouble so that excitement is certainly there internally but man all you know mentally you have to remind yourself like in terms of your preparation like we got to beat the Ravens we got to do every little thing every small detail that we can to maximize you know our opportunity to win. Well good luck I really do appreciate you carving out some time for us I know it's a busy week thanks so much for doing this and have a great game on Sunday. Hey thanks Zach we'll see you guys.