Joshua Williams Explains What Makes 'Wonder' Steve Spagnuolo So Unique

Steve Spagnuolo has one of the best reputations in the sport, and cornerback Joshua Williams thinks his versatility is the main reason why.

Sep 24, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo watches play against the Chicago Bears during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

While every NFL system is a challenge to learn, the Kansas City Chiefs pride themselves on boasting one of the league's most complex playbooks on either side of the ball. With two of the sport's best minds commanding offense and defense, it's easy to understand why the reigning Super Bowl champions place such an emphasis on attention to detail and building from the ground up in the offseason.

There haven't been many greater examples of that process than Steve Spagnuolo's tenure as defensive coordinator. Early in his time with the Chiefs, his defenses gradually improved throughout the season and peaked when it mattered the most. Last season saw the top form of that, as Kansas City held elite marks in various metrics en route to another title.

This year has been a bumpy ride, made more difficult by injuries. Despite that, Spagnuolo's defense strung together an elite three-game stretch from Weeks 15-17 and ranks 11th in EPA/play ahead of the playoffs.

Spagnuolo's players know he'll make the most of whatever he has. On a recent appearance on "Up & Adams with Kay Adams," Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams explained what makes him so special: You never know what's going on inside the head of a mad scientist.

"I think every morning, Spags has new stuff," Williams said. "His mind is like... he would be a great general, no funny stuff. He is really just a wonder. He can come up with all these different types of pressures, all these different types of zone drops. All of that is just stuff to kind of confuse the quarterback. A lot of times, guys get in the defense and they kind of do the same thing year in and year out, and that's good because you still get to perfect what you're doing.

"But in this system, I think one of the benefits of us is you have different guys doing different things all the time. We have corners who blitz, we have corners who drop to a half, we've got corners playing man-to-man, we've got corners playing off-man [or] off-zone. There are so many different types of defenses we run, and I feel like that's one of the benefits Coach Spags brings."

Although this year's Kansas City defense isn't elite, it's still championship-caliber. At the conclusion of a 17-game regular season, it ranks 13th in points per drive and is ninth in overall yardage and fourth in points surrendered. Among playoff defenses, Spagnuolo and defensive backs coach Dave Merritt deploy the most Cover 0 (6.2%) and rank second in Cover 2-Man (5.2%). They rank dead last in Cover 3 shells (17.5%), allowing for a more diverse profile overall. Even after being at less than full strength for most of the year, the coaching staff is maximizing what it has.

With cornerback Jaylen Watson potentially coming off the injured reserve list, the rich could get richer. That would give the ultra-versatile Spagnuolo yet another piece to work with which, as Williams alluded to, is nothing but a good thing in Kansas City.

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