Kansas City Chiefs: Five Players Who Need To Step-Up In 2014

Oct 20, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Cooper (31) breaks up a pass intended for Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) during the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

MARCUS COOPER, Corner Back

Cooper was the teams rookie of the year last season, as he shocked the entire city with his play during the first half of the year. At one point, Cooper was the top graded corner on Pro Football Focus as he was on a terror in coverage and take away’s for a consecutive string of weeks.

However, Cooper fell apart in the first meeting at Denver. He was left on an island pretty much all night with Broncos receiver, Demaryius Thomas. Safe to say Thomas got the best of Cooper, catching 5 passes for 121 yards. It didn’t get any better for Cooper either, as he faced Keenan Allen of the Chargers the following week, and he too got the best of Cooper in that game.

Hard to say what exactly went wrong with Marcus down the stretch. Perhaps it was the quality of competition, as he faced Manning twice, Rivers twice,  and Luck twice. Still, you cannot take away from his contributions in 2013 as he finished with 44 tackles, a forced fumble, and three interceptions. Not bad for a rookie.

Coop needs to step-up big for the Chiefs in 2014 if they want to have continued success on defense. He showed flashes of greatness at times last season and he needs to find that again added with consistency. If Cooper has a big season in 2014, the Chiefs defense could go to another level.