When the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, it meant that linebacker Drue Tranquill, who had never won a playoff game before this year, was going to Super Bowl LVIII.

So Tranquill lingered on the M&T Bank Stadium field for a bit, soaking it in. He was with his wife, oldest son, who brought over a Chiefs football, and his brother-in-law. They played catch.

“Those are the moments you think of,” Tranquill said. “And they’re always better than you could ever dream of.”

Well, for Tranquill, life keeps getting even better.

One year after signing a one-year, $3 million contract with the Chiefs, he earned a significant raise, re-signing for three years and $19 million, including $13 million guaranteed, according to ESPN.

Tranquill was a luxury addition for a team that already had a good linebacking corps (and often only plays two on the field at a time) including Nick Bolton, Willie Gay and Leo Chenal.

But when Bolton dislocated his wrist in Week Seven and missed five games, Tranquill filled in capably at middle linebacker.

“We slide Drue in there and really haven’t skipped a beat,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “I know his teammates love him and I love what he’s doing for us. So I can’t say enough about Drue.”

Spagnuolo guides one of the NFL’s most complicated defenses. So for Tranquill, a player in his first year in the scheme, to handle the different checks, coverages, responsibilities, audibles and pressures is all the more impressive.

“He’s done a phenomenal job for us,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said last year.

Tranquill started eight games, played more than 95% of the defensive snaps in six of them and recorded 75 tackles and 4.5 sacks on the whole.

And his best performance may have come in the AFC Championship Game when he pressured Lamar Jackson repeatedly and led the Chiefs with eight solo tackles in the Chiefs’ 17-10 road upset of the No. 1 seeded Ravens.

“He did a great job,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said in his analysis of the game. “He’s used to open-field tackles and doing that. I think that benefits him, and it did Sunday.”

Part of the reason Tranquill is so good in space and coverage is because he was a safety at Notre Dame until his senior season.

He’s now developed into a 6-2, 234 linebacker but was without a home heading into the 2023 offseason despite starting 16 games for the Los Angeles Chargers, recording 146 tackles and bringing the quarterback down five times in 2022.

But he shares the same agency (Wasserman Group) as JuJu Smith-Schuster. So while trying to re-sign the wide receiver, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach moved onto another Wasserman client who would fit their scheme.

From there Andy Reid pursued Tranquill by texting him pictures of a Super Bowl trophy.

Tranquill marveled at the serendipitous circumstances before playing in Super Bowl LVIII.

“To look back on that text with Coach Reid, it’s something to laugh about, but it’s crazy,” he said. “This is the pinnacle of the football world, the biggest game in the biggest league in the world … It’s been a whirlwind.”