Tanoh Kpassagnon

Tanoh Kpassagnon (/ˈtɑːnoʊ ˈpæsənjoʊ/ TAH-noh PASS-ən-yoh;[1] born June 14, 1994)[2] is an American football defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Villanova.

Tanoh Kpassagnon
Kpassagnon in the 2017 NFL season.
No. 92 – Kansas City Chiefs
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1994-06-14) June 14, 1994
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:289 lb (131 kg)
Career information
High school:Wissahickon
(Ambler, Pennsylvania)
College:Villanova
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 59
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2018
Total tackles:47
Sacks:6.0
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

Kpassagnon attended and played high school football at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania. He was recently inducted into the Wissahickon High School Alumni Hall of Fame.[3]

College career

Kpassagnon committed to play at Villanova University, the only school to offer him a scholarship for football. He redshirted his freshman season and started as a tight end. By his junior season, he had switched to defensive back. As a senior, he was the CAA defensive player of the year after recording 11 sacks. In a game against Pittsburgh, Kpassagnon blocked a field goal and had two tackles for loss.[4]

Kpassagnon double-majored in accounting and finance at Villanova. He interned at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for two summers.[5]

Professional career

Kpassagnon received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and made two combined tackles and a sack, helping the South clinch a 16-15 defeat over the North.[6] He attended the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. He also participated at Villanova's Pro Day and ran positional drills for scouts and representatives. Representatives from 18 NFL teams, including six defensive line coaches, attended to scout Kpassagnon as the feature prospect, two Villanova teammates, and seven other players from smaller schools.[7] Kpassagnon had private workouts and visits with ten NFL teams, that included the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, and Pittsburgh Steelers.[8] NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be drafted anywhere from the second to fourth round. He was ranked the 12th best defensive end in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and the 13th best defensive end by ESPN.[9]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 6 3⁄4 in
(2.00 m)		 289 lb
(131 kg)		 35 5⁄8 in
(0.90 m)		 10 5⁄8 in
(0.27 m)		 4.83 s 1.68 s 2.81 s 4.62 s 7.46 s 30 in
(0.76 m)		 10 ft 8 in
(3.25 m)		 23 reps
All values from NFL Combine[10]

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Kpassagnon in the second round (59th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[11] He was the seventh defensive end selected in the 2017 NFL Draft. On June 7, 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Kpassagnon to a four-year, $4.32 million contract with $1.94 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.32 million.[12]

He competed with Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, Jarvis Jenkins, Allen Bailey, and David King throughout training camp for the vacant starting defensive end job left by the departure of Jaye Howard. After showing versatility and "freakish" athleticism throughout training camp and the preseason, head coach Andy Reid designated an edge rusher role for Kpassagnon that allows him to line up at multiple positions, including outside linebacker, defensive end, and defensive tackle.[13] Kpassagnon was named the backup right outside linebacker behind Dee Ford with the usual starter, Tamba Hali, on the physically unable to perform list to begin the regular season.

Kpassagnon made his professional regular season debut during the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opening 42-27 victory over the New England Patriots. On December 31, 2017, with the division title and the fourth seed clinched, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid rested the majority of the teams starters, giving Kpassagnon the chance to make his first career start against the Denver Broncos. He finished with seven combined tackles and two sacks during the 27-24 victory.

On January 19th, 2020 against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game, Kpassagnon sacked quarterback Ryan Tannehill twice during the 35–24 win.[14] The Chiefs eventually made it to Super Bowl LIV. The Chiefs succeeded in defeating the 49ers 31-20 to secure their first championship in 50 years.[15]

Personal life

Kpassagnon is the son of Ivorian and Ugandan parents.[16] His mother, Winifred Wafuoyo, is a chemist, and his father, Patrice Kpassagnon Tagro, is an economist.[4]

References
  1. "Tanoh Kpassagnon Draft Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  2. Villanova Wildcats bio
  3. http://www.thereporteronline.com/article/RO/20150923/SPORTS/150929912
  4. Thamel, Pete (January 16, 2017). "Meet Tanoh Kpassagnon, the next small-school sensation of the NFL draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  5. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/draft/2017/04/17/tanoh-kpassagnon-villanova-nfl-draft-2017/100573976/
  6. "Senior Bowl: 2017 South Team Roster". seniorbowl.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  7. Gil Brandt (March 17, 2017). "Pro day results: Iowa, Houston, Villanova, WKU, Texas Southern". NFL.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  8. "Walter Football: 2017 NFL Draft Prospect Visits/Workouts". walterfootball.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  9. Jeff Legwold (April 22, 2017). "Ranking the 2017 Draft's Top 100 Players". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  10. "NFL Draft Profile: Tanoh Kpassagnon". NFL.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  11. Sweeney, Pete (April 28, 2017). "Five Things To Know About New Chiefs DE Tanoh Kpassagnon". Chiefs.com.
  12. "Spotrac.com: Tanoh Kpassagnon contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  13. "Tanoh Kpassagnon review: Giant edge for the Chiefs". www.arrowheadpride.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  14. "Mahomes' feet, arms, lift Chiefs to Super Bowl over Titans". www.espn.com. Associated Press. January 19, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  15. "Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV". NFL. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  16. Okupa, Francis (May 2, 2017). "Plenty of African players picked up during the 2017 NFL Draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
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