CLEVELAND — Since Jordan Lucas arrived in Kansas City just a week before the regular season kicked off he's chalked up his first career start and first interception, and in Sunday's 37-21 win against the Cleveland Browns, he added his first career sack.
“It felt great just to be in there of course,” Lucas said, “but to get my first career sack – during a game, it's just another play, but when you think about it, that's nice.”
Lucas recorded the sack in the first quarter on a safety blitz, roaring off the left side of the offense past tight end David Njoku. He drilled quarterback Baker Mayfield in the back for a 9-yard loss on third-and-7. The play forced the Browns to settle for a 51-yard field goal from kicker Greg Joseph.
“I was just going on the blitz and nobody blocked me so I had a free run to the quarterback,” Lucas said. “At that point, Baker Mayfield is such a good player, making guys miss, I'm just happy I got him.”
Lucas added a burst of energy at the safety position upon his arrival from the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs sent a 2020 seventh-round selection in exchange for Lucas, and so far the deal appears a steal for the club.
Defensive backs coach Al Harris recently described Lucas as and easy to coach player who does anything the team asks of him.
“I have a five-year old and I think their energy matches,” Harris said. “He’s always energetic but the thing about Jordan is that he is extremely coachable. He’s hungry and you can tell him, literally, ‘Hey man, I need you to go run into that wall.’ Nine times out of ten, you look back again and he’s running into that wall.”
The ever-modest Lucas doesn't believe that he brings any energy different from his teammates.
“I try to be pretty consistent,” Lucas said. “I feel like we've got a lot of guys on the team with great energy.”
But Lucas does pride himself on playing any role the team requires of him. He started three games earlier this season with Eric Murray dealing with an ankle injury. In the last two games he's take on the dime linebacker role in which Daniel Sorensen frequently served in recent seasons.
“I just like playing football,” Lucas said. “Wherever the coaches decide or scheme up and make sense to put me, they're going to do that. Wherever they put me I'm happy with it, I just love playing.”
The third-year safety from Penn State won many new fans during his first two months in Kansas City with his hard-hitting style and tough-nosed attitude on the field. The hashtag "LucasLocomotive" has taken off on Twitter. Lucas doesn't have a Twitter account, but he's heard about the grassroots campaign.
“Somebody actually said that to me, and I'm like, 'OK, we'll run with it,'” Lucas said. “Whatever the fans want to do, that's great. I'm blessed.”
Lucas said he felt something special in the Chiefs locker room the moment he arrived in Kansas City.
“The coaches do a great job of giving us the game plan but not feeding us too much,” Lucas said. “We take what we need from the game plan and we're allowed to play fast because of that and we play together, and it shows out there. We definitely play together here.”
