Kpassagnon drafted by Chiefs
Wiss grad goes in second round to KC
“I feel like a lot of guys have made it to the league or made it to this step, the combine or something like that, but there’s always something you can improve on and you just want to show that you love this. So everything I did, I wanted to show that I loved it.” — Tanoh Kpassagnon
Tanoh Kpassagnon, the defensive end from Villanova, is headed to Kansas City.
The 6-7, 290-pound pass rusher from Ambler was a second-round selection of the Chiefs in the NFL Draft Friday. He was the 59th player selected overall, the 27th in the second round.
While some expected the Wissahickon High grad to go in the second round, many projections had him as a thirdround pick.
A first-team FCS Associated Press All-American last season, when he generated 11 sacks for the Wildcats, Kpassagnon gained in draft status after impressing scouts at the Senior Bowl. He also performed well at the NFL scouting combine.
“They want to see if guys are willing to compete,” Kpassagnon said during the scouting process. “That’s a big thing. I feel like a lot of guys have made it to the league or made it to this step, the combine or something like that, but there’s always something you can improve on and you just want to show that you love this. So everything I did, I wanted to show that I loved it.”
Kpassagnon was late to blossom at Villanova, where he had a red-shirt year and an ordinary, one-sack first season be-
fore injuring his MCL as a sophomore. By his junior year, however, he was a first-team All-CAA performer with 6.5 sacks.
“One of the coaches said that they think he’s going to be the diamond in the rough or the sleeper of this draft,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante had said. “He feels anyone whoever takes him in a couple of years may get the steal of the draft.”
Kpassagnon was known to have been auditioned by the Saints, Falcons, Lions, Titans and Patriots.
“Football has become a part of me,” Kpassagnon has said. “Hopefully, everybody’s job is what they do, and hopefully that job becomes a part of them and part of their identity. Football is part of my identity.”