The Kansas City Chiefs will take the field and play the Denver Broncos to begin the season in less than three weeks. There is still a lot to learn about the Chiefs’ new-look defensive backfield, and it’s more than the fans who are saying that.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo finally got a glimpse of the sixth-overall pick in this year’s draft, cornerback Mansoor Delane, during the Week 2 preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
At the podium before Tuesday’s practice, Spagnuolo acknowledged
that it was nice to see Delane in live action, and shared the one play that stuck out in his mind.
“He had the one quick trigger on the rocket screen, which was nice,” Spagnuolo reflected.
As he continued to talk through the state of the secondary in Kansas City, he acknowledged the in-and-out availability of veteran cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (Knee) factoring into the equation.
“We still haven’t had LJ out there very much, so that’s a piece of the puzzle,” Spagnuolo noted. “Certainly Nohl [Williams] and Mansoor have done a good job out there, along with the other guys… We have another game to evaluate them, so we’ll see where we are; we’re kind of moving some pieces around.”
Spags also pointed out the absence of his two starting safeties: Alohi Gilman (Low-back spasms) and Chamarri Conner.
“Alohi didn’t play,” Spagnuolo reminded reporters. “So we’re working through that, and Chamarri is not out there right now, so we have a lot of moving pieces right now. Hopefully, as we get into next week, all that stuff will start to take fold.”
Throughout the preseason, third-year defensive back Christian Roland-Wallace has manned the starting “slot” position in the team’s most common personnel package.
“He’s playing a lot of spots right now,” Spagnuolo described Roland-Wallace. “In any defense, I think that’s valuable when you can be that versatile… he has become a real, reliable player for us.”
However, it sounds like Sneed’s presence could reshape how the starting defense has looked to this point.
“We have to get LJ back; we have to get everyone back to figure out where everyone is going to slot in,” Spagnuolo said.
Sneed, who spent the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, has a familiar routine for injury management. During his initial stint in Kansas City, he had a unique practice schedule as he played through a knee issue; it sounds like that has continued since he returned this offseason.
Spagnuolo told local media that he checks in with the team’s head trainer, Rick Burkholder, daily regarding Sneed.
“We just don’t want any setbacks,” Spagnuolo shared. “The one thing about having LJ here is we know exactly what he is and what he can do, so I feel confident in that. He knows the system; he’s kind of right back into it and has embraced it. He’s a student of the game in the meeting rooms, which is good for the young guys to see.”
“We’re just kind of chipping away at building a number of reps to get him ready, hopefully, to play in the regular season,” Spagnuolo said. “One of the things I’m always cautious about is I don’t want him to go backward, health-wise.”
In training camp, Sneed was around or on the field quite a bit, even if he wasn’t cleared for full contact. He hasn’t dressed for either preseason game. Sneed has clearly earned the defensive coaching staff’s trust over the four seasons he spent as a young playmaker in the unit.
“I think we’ve been smart with it, and I think it helps that we know him,” Spagnuolo said. “It would be different if he brought somebody in brand new, and he missed all this time. With LJ, I think we’re confident he can do it.”
The final piece to the Sneed puzzle is exactly where he could be lining up within the defensive formation this season. Early in his career, Sneed manned the slot and excelled. Eventually, he excelled on the perimeter.
Spagnuolo still sees — and hears — that versatility from Sneed.
“LJ and I have talked about it a lot; he’s comfortable in both,” Spagnuolo shared. “Here’s his response, always, when I ask him: ‘Wherever you need me.’ That’s what he says. So a little bit of it will be determined by who else is out there and what they can do.”
“LJ was always a lot like Trent [McDuffie],” Spagnuolo pointed out. “LJ was always effective inside, but when we needed him to match up on somebody outside, that kind of dictated it, so that same thing might happen. We’ll see where the other guys are.”
Just because we haven’t seen No. 38 out on the field with the Chiefs’ defense much this preseason doesn’t mean he’ll be on the sidelines once the live bullets start flying.
