Chiefs' Trent McDuffie Named a Year Two CB Breakout Candidate

After a promising rookie effort from McDuffie, Brian Baldinger is expecting big things out of him in his sophomore season.

The Kansas City Chiefs' youth movement entering the 2022 campaign took place at multiple positions, but no spot felt that subsequent impact more than the secondary. Cornerback, in particular, was a position chock-full of young talent.

Down the stretch of the year, Kansas City's top four corners were L'Jarius Sneed (now age 26), Trent McDuffie (22), Jaylen Watson (24) and Joshua Williams (23). That nucleus of players on rookie contracts not only kept costs low and the salary cap in better shape, but it also allowed defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to mold his secondary how he saw fit. With Sneed now entering the final year of his rookie deal and the other three going from rookies to sophomores in the league, another mini-leap could be expected.

One second-year Chiefs cornerback is rising above the others in terms of hype, and for good reason. NFL.com analyst Brian Baldinger recently published his list of 10 NFL cornerbacks poised for breakouts in year two, with McDuffie being highlighted as one of the more promising young defensive backs in the league. Here's what Baldinger wrote about the Chiefs' 2022 first-round pick: 

After missing six games early in the 2022 season with a hamstring injury, McDuffie became a major contributor to Kansas City's Super Bowl run. Logging seven passes defensed, one forced fumble and one sack in his rookie campaign, McDuffie was one of the Chiefs' top outside cornerbacks -- but he was also their best cover man in the slot, where he could use his size and instincts to win. Last season, he played 536 snaps out wide and 247 snaps in the slot, according to PFF. This season, I expect McDuffie to once again take a majority of his snaps outside opposite stud L'Jarius Sneed in Steve Spagnuolo's base defense, and I believe he'll have an even bigger impact. 

In addition to the stats Baldinger mentioned, there were other indicators of McDuffie's impressive first-year stint in Kansas City. His 44 tackles ranked in the top 10 among all Chiefs players despite him missing six regular-season games; his 76.0 Pro Football Focus coverage grade was the third-best among all rookie cornerbacks (16th for all NFL corners) and his 9.3 yards-per-reception allowed was the seventh-lowest when comparing cornerbacks who played at least half the qualified amount of snaps. By just about any measure, McDuffie emerged as a borderline blue-chip player in year No. 1.

Perhaps the most monumental element of McDuffie's rookie year is that he experienced so much success while also dealing with injuries. He suffered a concussion in the preseason that didn't hold him out of regular-season action, but a hamstring strain in Week 1 left him on the shelf all the way until Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans. Once he got back, he immediately shook the rust off and began turning in good performances week after week while never playing fewer than 95% of the team's defensive snaps. 

Baldinger expecting the former Washington standout to have a bigger impact in his sophomore season is not only rooted in quality film and stats, but also the logic of him potentially being on the field more often. If that ends up being the case, the Chiefs should have one of the league's better cornerback duos roaming the secondary. 

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