Kansas City Chiefs: Transitioning to Kendall Fuller

The Kansas City Chiefs are making a transition at cornerback from Marcus Peters to Kendall Fuller. What should we expect?

The Kansas City Chiefs were among some of the biggest headlines this offseason starting with the trade with the Washington Redskins. Kansas City sent quarterback Alex Smith, who had started the last five seasons for the franchise, to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller. What made this trade even more astonishing was the fact that the teams agreed to terms before the Super Bowl had yet been played.

It seemed that Kansas City had stacked their cornerback position as Fuller would join cornerback Marcus Peters. Then came the news that Marcus Peters was being traded to the Los Angeles Rams for a fourth-round pick this year, and a second-round pick in 2019. It was a move that had fans questioning the team when they saw the little in return for the star cornerback.

Peters has led the league since being drafted in 2015 in interceptions with 19, cementing himself as one of the elite lockdown corners in the league. While his play on the field, especially for the price under his rookie deal, was elite, the team had to deal with the antics that came along with it. There was the National Anthem protest that had many fans happy to see him depart, but the on the field problems like throwing the penalty flag in the stands following a touchdown for the New York Jets and yelling matches with coaches were likely the main problem.

There’s also the part of Peters that he was not a leader on the defense. Despite his elite talent, Peters was never the leadership type of personality. In fact, his character is part of what Kansas City doesn’t want apparently, or they wouldn’t have traded him away for little in return. Peters locked down one side of the field in the passing game for the Chiefs defense but was known to play soft against the run game last year.

Kendall Fuller looks to significantly improve the Chiefs secondary next season! pic.twitter.com/vebGvdKvQo
— PFF (@PFF) February 1, 2018

Moving on from Peters will be an interesting transition in the Chiefs defense this coming season. Kendall Fuller should be looked at as another great talent in the secondary, however. He ranked as Pro Football Focus’ best slot cornerback last season with the Redskins. Coming to Kansas City, Fuller will be moved around the defense instead of being a primarily slot cornerback in 2018.

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Playing the slot cornerback position is usually considered the third cornerback spot was meaning that player is the third-best cornerback. This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, I think corners that can play the slot at a level like Fuller did in his sophomore season with the Redskins makes them a better cornerback. In the slot, cornerbacks don’t have the boundary to help defend the pass. Instead, the corner has to play the entire field which showed how much of a lockdown corner Fuller indeed was last season.

When asked at the league meetings, Andy Reid said that Fuller would be playing both slot and outside cornerback positions. As the Chiefs took to OTAs and minicamp, Fuller spoke to the media about moving all over the defense. While Peters stayed in the same left cornerback spot during his time in Kansas City, we should see Fuller move around. Whether Peters staying put was his preference or defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s, it seems the Chiefs want to move Fuller around. I would like to see him take on the top receivers of opposing teams as much as possible in 2018.

If the Chiefs want to keep him on the boundary during some nickel and dime sets, cornerback Steven Nelson has proven potential in the slot. Spending most of the season on Injured Reserve last year, Nelson came back without any time to get back into game shape. His struggles were due to the lack of playing in the beginning part of the season in my opinion. Nelson showed his abilities in 2016 when the Chiefs had a much better secondary.

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I think the dropoff from Peters to Fuller has fans blowing the defense out of proportion. I expect Fuller to step in and be a lockdown corner and play the ball like Peters has done the last three seasons. The difference is that he will line up in more than one spot making it harder for offenses to scheme around him. Given that the team has safety Eric Berry back this coming season, I see the secondary improving from last year.

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