Since defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo took over with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, he has gone through multiple iterations of defensive back cores.
Initially, the Chiefs were built around safeties Tyrann Mathieu, Juan Thornhill and Daniel Sorensen with Charvarius Ward and Bashaud Breeland as the starting cornerbacks. The defense was at its best when it could disguise and rotate coverages with the safeties to confuse quarterbacks.
As time went on, the Chiefs decided to prioritize bringing in better
cornerback talent, which worked tremendously.
In 2020, L’Jarius Sneed was drafted in the fourth round. Two years later, Kansas City traded up in the first round to acquire Trent McDuffie before selecting Jaylen Watson in the second round.
Sneed and McDuffie would go on to form one of the best NFL cornerback duos in recent years during the 2023 season. Their ability to play man coverage on any boundary or slot receiver was the main reason the Chiefs had an elite defense that carried them to a Super Bowl.
Kansas City complemented the two playmaking cornerbacks with a good, smart safety in the wake of letting Mathieu walk in free agency. Justin Reid turned out to be a great addition, and in the same offseason, the team drafted safety Bryan Cook in the second round.
From 2022 until last year, the secondary was elite, but all of the pieces making up that secondary are gone.
The Chiefs made a flurry of moves to replace their talent in the secondary.
- Safety Alohi Gilman was signed in free agency as a straightforward fit in Cook’s former role as free safety
- Cornerback Kadar Kohou is an experienced starter at the Nickel spot, potentially manning the slot this upcoming season.
- Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed should be back to compete for outside cornerback snaps.
- Rookie cornerbacks Mansoor Delane, as a starter, and Jadon Canady, likely competing for the Nickel spot, will both be factors in the team immediately one way or another.
Including the returning Chiefs, there are two players that should be considered locked-in starters going into the season: Gilman and Delane. Gilman was brought in to replace Cook, and Delane is by far their most talented player. Even if Delane doesn’t play on the boundary, he could play in the slot. Delane should be an instant high-impact starter similar to McDuffie.
The questions surround the other spots in the defensive backfield.
What is the best role for these players?
What will end up being the best combination of defensive backs?
When the Chiefs go into nickel or dime, who will come on the field?
Let’s start with the other boundary cornerback spot opposite Delane.
Boundary Cornerback
Going into training camp, there are three options to start opposite Delane: Sneed, Nohl Williams, and Kristian Fulton.
Of those three, Williams would figure to be the favorite to start. Williams got the majority of his opportunities at the end of the season when Watson and McDuffie were injured. Williams is an intelligent player who is best playing in underneath zones where he can read the quarterback’s eyes and use his tackling ability. Williams long speed isn’t great, but it’s one of the only negative traits to point out about the second-year cornerback.
I believe Williams will win the job, but Fulton and Sneed are veteran players certainly capable of supplanting him.
Sneed is back for a second tenure with the Chiefs, but at a much different stage of his career. Sneed hasn’t been able to stay healthy for two years and hasn’t looked close to what he was in 2023. It’s a worthy swing for the Chiefs, but it’s hard to count on him.
Fulton feels like the safer bet, but he also has a volatile profile. Fulton did play better by the end of the year, but he struggled for the majority of last season coming off an injury.
Slot Defender
If Delane plays on the boundary, these are the top four guys that could play in the slot: Canady, Kohou, safety Chamarri Conner and cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace.
Conner has played the most in the slot, but it has never been his best position. He can play the run and blitz from the slot, but he struggles to defend slot receivers in man coverage. With the Chiefs needing a starting safety opposite Gilman, it makes sense to move Conner to his more natural position.
The Chiefs also have more depth in the slot. Between Kohou, Canady, and Rolland-Wallace, it’s hard to know who will start.
- Kohou is coming off an injury, so we don’t know how he’ll look athletically.
- Canady is a rookie I’m excited about for his man coverage ability, but he’s an undersized player who might not hold up in the box.
- Rolland-Wallace is also an option, but he’s never been a starter and has struggled in spot snaps.
If Kohou is healthy and looks like what he did with the Miami Dolphins, he would likely be the starter, but this is a race to watch.
Safety
Of the three secondary positions, safety might be the easiest to figure out with the lack of safety depth.
Gilman will be one of the starters, and the Chiefs’ actions suggest Conner is moving back to safety, who has better tape in that role than third-year safety Jaden Hicks.
You could be improving two spots at once with the slot and safety. Unless Hicks has a great training camp, I would expect Conner and Gilman to start.
The Bottom Line
This isn’t Kansas City’s most talented secondary, but there’s a lot to like about the competition and depth ahead of a 53-man roster cutdown.
It gives Spagnuolo plenty of options; it’ll just be about tinkering with what works and how to build the defense around them. It may be a slow process to figuring that out, but by the end of the season, the secondary could peak once the right group of defensive backs is the primary players.
