{"id":9989,"date":"2017-01-07T13:09:58","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T18:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=9989"},"modified":"2021-03-20T11:59:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T15:59:37","slug":"who-is-justin-march-lillard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2017\/01\/07\/who-is-justin-march-lillard\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Justin March-Lillard?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On December 8th, it was made aware to the public that Jamaal Charles<\/a><\/strong> should be healthy enough to play in the playoffs. Kansas City Chiefs fans loved the sound of that.\u00a0 Kansas City is the 15th best rushing team in the league in 2016. Charles would be that spark the rushing attack needed and give the offense even more firepower. Unfortunately, December 8th delivered some other injury news. That night, Derrick Johnson<\/a><\/strong> would tear his Achilles in the Chiefs victory against the Oakland Raiders. Johnson lead the Chiefs in tackles and is crucial to the Chiefs defense stopping the run game.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Who is Justin March-Lillard<\/a>?<\/h2>\n

Kansas City was faced with a difficult decision. The Chiefs could only bring back one player from the Injured Reserve list and it came down to Charles or linebacker\u00a0Justin March-Lillard<\/strong><\/a>. Kansas City\u2019s defense has had issues all year with stopping the run.\u00a0 Spencer Ware<\/a><\/strong>, however, has had a decent year as the number one back, while Charcandrick West<\/a><\/strong> and Tyreek Hill<\/a><\/strong> have rushed for a combined 560 yards. Ware is 79 yards short of 1,000 yards rushing this season. The success of Ware, West, and Hill have allowed the Chiefs to get March-Lillard off the IR and back on the starting roster.<\/p>\n

Second Year on the Chiefs<\/h3>\n

March-Lillard went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, and the Chiefs signed him as a free agent\u00a0from the\u00a0University of Akron shortly afterwards.\u00a0March-Lillard was placed on the IR for his rookie season.\u00a0The inside linebacker would finally see some playing time in 2016, playing\u00a0in five games in 2016 before being placed on the IR\u00a0with a hand injury. March-Lillard recorded 15 solo tackles, seven tackles, and two passes defensed in the five games he played in. This is his time to shine and prove that he deserved to be the player brought off the IR.<\/p>\n

Stopping the Run<\/h3>\n

If the Chiefs want to go on a run to play in and win Super Bowl\u00a0LI they must do well stopping the run.\u00a0A case could be made for every AFC team in the playoffs and how well they can run the ball.\u00a0The New England Patriots especially will find their opponent\u2019s weakness and attack it.\u00a0If it involves Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong> handing the ball off to LeGarrette Blount<\/a> <\/strong>the whole game, they will do it.\u00a0Kansas City will look to March-Lillard and Ramik Wilson<\/a><\/strong> to mainly stop the run from the inside linebacker spot.<\/p>\n

Time to Shine<\/h3>\n

The NFL playoffs are a big stage.\u00a0As an undrafted second year player out of Akron, this will be the biggest stage March-Lillard\u2019s been in.\u00a0If there was ever a place to prove that he belongs in the NFL, this is that place. The former Zip has big shoes to fill now that he will be replacing a four-time Pro Bowler in Derrick Johnson, but the\u00a0Chiefs coaching staff believes he can do it.\u00a0It is clear that they\u00a0believe in March-Lillard, or else they wouldn\u2019t have brought him back from the IR when Jamaal Charles would have been available. It is time for Justin March-Lillard to capture Chiefs fans’ hearts.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n