This entire offseason has consisted of several Kansas City Chiefs fans slightly panicking about the cornerback position for the 2016 season. Should we really be worrying all that much though?
I’ll be honest here.
I definitely thought once Sean Smith departed for Oakland, that the KC Chiefs might struggle in the secondary this season. Smith pretty much had wide receivers on his own little island, and his presence will be sorely missed this season.
Despite Marcus Peters‘ incredible rookie season, he did have some problems with allowing yardage. He surrendered over 1,000 yards in coverage and allowed eight touchdowns. That was as a rookie though, and the chances of him improving are definitely probable.
With that said, there has to be two cornerbacks playing in the secondary, and the other spot is up for grabs.
Adam Teicher of ESPN wrote an article on Tuesday, however, stating that the Kansas City Chiefs would be just fine at cornerback. He mentioned all of the corners that the Chiefs are working out and then had this to say about their current situation.
"The Chiefs have far to go before things are resolved favorably here. They are counting on plenty of unknowns, like whether Gaines can continue the development path he was on before the injury. They need Nelson and Russell to continue their early play. They need at least one of their other young corners to develop."
It’s certainly difficult to argue with Teicher on any of this.
The Kansas City Chiefs did not choose to sign a veteran cornerback to help out in the absence of Smith, but did draft three young guys who could compete with Phillip Gaines and Steven Nelson for that second starting spot.
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Gaines tore his ACL just three games into his second season last year and he did so after coming off an impressive rookie campaign. He would be my vote to start at the other cornerback spot due to his experience.
KeiVarae Russell, one of the rookies, is also an option. The Chiefs selected him in the third round of the NFL Draft and despite injuries throughout his college career, Russell could be another dominant young corner for the organization.
Steven Nelson didn’t get a whole lot of playing time in 2015 despite being an earlier draft pick in 2015, but he seems poised to make improvements this season. Teicher even called him “one of the stars” in his article.
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The other two rookies come in the form of Eric Murray and D.J. White. While I don’t see either of these guys being immediate playmakers, Teicher states if they’re developed fast enough, they could be factors this season.
What do you think about the Kansas City Chiefs cornerback depth chart?