After Preseason Concern, the Chiefs' Cornerbacks Are Overachieving Again

Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson have starred in the Chiefs' cornerback room after the team parted ways with L'Jarius Sneed this offseason.

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) celebrates with Trent McDuffie (22) after recovering a muffed punt against the San Francisco 49ers in the second half in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When the Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back championships in the 2022 and 2023 NFL seasons, they did it with top-level cornerback play from their starting duo of L'Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie. With additional cornerback depth coming later in the '22 draft class that started with McDuffie in the first round before adding Joshua Williams in the sixth round and both Jaylen Watson and Nazeeh Johnson in the seventh, the Chiefs rebuilt their depth chart in one draft class.

After trading Sneed to the Tennessee Titans this offseason, there was no doubt that McDuffie would need to be KC's top cornerback. After McDuffie, however, the unknowns began. How have the Chiefs' corners fared so far in 2024? Spoiler alert: Jordan Foote of Kansas City Chiefs On SI and I agree; it's gone very well, especially at the top.

Joshua Brisco: While the whole group is intriguing, it would be downright irresponsible not to begin this conversation with Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. McDuffie has played every single defensive snap of the season so far, and he's played them at an elite level. Continuing to be used as a weapon in the slot at times while also dominating on the outside, McDuffie is a truly elite cornerback who can do just about anything at an extremely high level. Watson's growth may be the biggest development of the defense's 2024 season, but McDuffie's continued top-tier play deserves more discussion than he's received. It's not McDuffie's fault that quarterbacks have gotten smart enough to avoid challenging him.

Jordan Foote: McDuffie being able to handle most of L'Jarius Sneed's role and taking it in stride has been huge for the Chiefs' secondary. Not only is McDuffie silencing anyone who doubted his ability due to not being the biggest or most physical cornerback, but he's proving to be matchup-proof and someone who can constantly be relied on. I think an underrated part of his profile is his ability to immediately recover from a bad rep in-game. Instead of letting things snowball, McDuffie has that patented "next play" mentality that's easy to preach but hard to put into action.

Somehow, Watson's emergence might be the biggest development of all for the defense. After a slow-burning offseason that saw him work his way back from shoulder surgery, he's emerged as a legitimate force in year No. 3. He's posting career-best marks in completion percentage (51.7) and passer rating (73.9) allowed when targeted, and that's with some tough assignments being thrown his way. Kansas City needed someone out of the Watson, Nazeeh Johnson and Joshua Williams trio to step up. Watson certainly did so. What do you make of the other two cornerbacks in the mix?

Brisco: Starting with Watson: I was confident that the Chiefs would find someone to provide at least competent cornerback play opposite McDuffie as the team's No. 2, but as training camp went on without enough healthy bodies or any clear winners, I began to brace for the idea that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive backs coach Dave Merritt may have to adjust their approach to cover for the weaknesses of one of the backs who struggled in camp. Instead, Watson knocked off the rust as he struggled in KC's preseason finale before hitting the ground running in Week 1. Not only has he been individually good, he's continued to grow in coverage and as an especially "Spags-y" corner who is willing and able to stop a runner on the outside or to blitz when a quarterback isn't expecting him. Watson deserves even more discussion than we'll give him in this conversation. The good news is that Zack Eisen of Kansas City Chiefs On SI wrote about him earlier this month!

Williams is fascinating because he had a chance to win the No. 2 cornerback job in training camp while Watson was sidelined. Instead, the former fourth-round pick played 32 defensive snaps in Week 1, six in Week 2, and none in the last three games. Williams has seen a substantial special teams role, but he's been passed on the cornerback depth chart. Johnson's snap share is inverted. He didn't get a defensive rep in Week 1 before seeing between 30-43% of the defensive snaps in Weeks 2 through 5 while playing less on special teams. For what it's worth, Chris Roland-Wallace got his first defensive snap of the year in Week 5, adding one more name to the mix.

Read More: Jaylen Watson's Emergence Has Helped the Chiefs' Defense Remain Great