Chiefs’ Poe slow to pick up system


(Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE)

There are many reasons head coach Romeo Crennel didn’t want to release a depth chart before the Chiefs have played a preseason game. One of the biggest causes for hesitation — 6-5, 346-pound nose tackle Dontari Poe.

The 11th pick in the 2012 draft, Poe has been a large disappointment in his first week of training camp. Crennel envisioned the freakishly athletic Poe as a clone of Vince Wilfork, an All-Pro-caliber nose tackle with the Patriots who Crennel helped groom in New England. That’s a most unreasonable comparison after Poe’s first 10 practices as a pro.

Asked on Wednesday what Poe needs to improve, Crennel didn’t hold back.

“A lot,” said Crennel. “He needs to work on technique, he needs to work on understanding the system, he needs to get the calls correct all the time. He’s got a ways to go.”

Poe left Memphis after his junior season with very modest career production for the Tigers as a defensive tackle in a 4-3 system. But he invited closer scrutiny from scouts across the league with a scintillating workout at the Scouting Combine in February. Poe showed superhuman strength (a 2012 event-best 44 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press) and unfathomable speed and explosiveness with an unofficial 4.87 40-yard dash time and 1.73-second 10-yard split.

The numbers posted as official for Poe are still staggering — 4.98 in the 40, which was better than Ndamukong Suh’s 5.03 time two years earlier. Suh has darting quickness and great power for his size — and he’s 43 pounds lighter than Poe.

There are a few major differences. First, Suh was an All-American, and more productive than any player at his position. Suh, the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft, was also fortunate enough to be drafted to play virtually the same position and scheme he did at Nebraska. Everything is new for Poe with the Chiefs.

“It’s all different,” he said. “The technique of it, there’s nothing the same about the college level. The only thing the same is that it’s football. As far as the speed level and the strength and all that, you’ve got to learn it all.”