Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie Named 'Dark-Horse' DPOY Candidate

With L'Jarius Sneed no longer in town, the McDuffie bandwagon is apparently one to join ahead of the 2024 season.

Jan 13, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) is / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs have a star-studded roster at the top, although the offensive side of the ball gets a good chunk of the attention. It's hard to blame anyone for gravitating toward quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, but they have some impressive teammates as well.

Cornerback Trent McDuffie, just 23 years old and just two seasons into his career, is one of them. The first-team All-Pro began appearing on radars last season due to his stellar play, which is something that appears to be continuing into the offseason.

With the 2024 NFL Draft in the books, the month of May is a time for many to reflect or look ahead to the upcoming campaign. In a recent article for NFL.com, Gennaro Filice is doing the latter. In his list of 11 bandwagons folks "should hop on immediately," the McDuffie hype train made the list.

Filice had high praise for the former first-round pick, hinting at Defensive Player of the Year consideration and saying he "could be on the verge of superstardom."

"McDuffie isn’t as outspoken as many lockdown corners of the recent vintage, but his play speaks volumes," Filice wrote. "A scheme-versatile cover man who can blanket receivers in the slot or out wide, as well as rush the passer, the 2022 first-rounder absolutely stuffed the stat sheet this past season with 80 tackles, nine QB hits, seven passes defensed, five forced fumbles and three sacks. He just started -- and won -- his second Super Bowl in as many seasons, masterfully eliminating Deebo Samuel in a transcendent performance on the game’s biggest stage.

"While McDuffie earned first-team All-Pro honors as a slot cornerback, his dominance isn’t just limited to nickel duties. And in the wake of L'Jarius Sneed’s free-agent departure, I can’t wait to see how Steve Spagnuolo deploys the 23-year-old eraser in his third season. Dark-horse Defensive Player of the Year candidate? The campaign starts here!"

With McDuffie coming off such a brilliant sophomore effort, it's hard to blame Filice for being this high on him. In 16 regular-season games, the former Washington standout set career-high marks in tackles (80), quarterback hits (9), passes broken up (7), forced fumbles (5) and sacks (3). He was consistently available for Spagnuolo and defensive backs coach Dave Merritt as well, playing 97% of possible snaps in the games he was active for.

In addition to emerging as a legitimate blitzing force and remaining sound against the run, McDuffie excelled in coverage. He surrendered only two touchdowns all year, also being penalized just two times. Pro Football Focus credited him with an 82.9 overall defensive grade and 78.3 coverage grade, both more than respectable marks. During Kansas City's postseason run, quarterbacks had a 76.6 passer rating when targeting McDuffie.

With L'Jarius Sneed traded to the Tennessee Titans, the stage is set for McDuffie to be the unquestioned No. 1 cornerback on the Chiefs. He's supported by veterans Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson (as well as some others), but his All-Pro-level talent will be needed in 2024.

If the Kansas City defense keeps up a pace similar to its 2023 production, don't be surprised to see McDuffie notch more praise. That applies locally, nationally and perhaps even with award voters.

Read More: Chiefs Get 'A' Draft Grade From PFF Analyst Thanks to Good Day 3