Kansas City Chiefs: 53-man roster predictions following first preseason game

Cornerbacks

Keep: Kendall Fuller, Steven Nelson, David Amerson, Arrion Springs, Tremon Smith, 

Cut: Will Redmond, Keith Reaser, Step Durham, D’Monte Wade

One of the biggest question marks surrounding the Chiefs roster is the cornerbacks in 2018. Most of the panic comes from the team trading away Marcus Peters to the Los Angeles Rams for peanuts this offseason. The trade came shortly after the Chiefs traded away starting quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins for Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick in return.

Even at the loss of Marcus Peters, one of the top shutdown cornerbacks in the NFL, I still feel that the Chiefs cornerback position is an improved group overall from last season. Kendall Fuller is not Marcus Peters, but I don’t see a significant dropoff either. Fuller will play most of his time in the slot which has many fans skeptical, but in today’s NFL, offenses are putting their best receivers in the slot more and more often.

The slot position is the hardest position for cornerbacks to cover. Instead of having a boundary to help, cornerbacks are forced to cover the entire field. Fuller had a breakout season with the Redskins last season and was ranked one of the top slot cornerbacks from Pro Football Focus.

Steven Nelson missed the first half of the season last year and struggled his first few games back as he got back into football shape. Down the final stretch and into the postseason, Nelson got back to a starting caliber corner that the Chiefs needed. He is an upgrade over Terrance Mitchell and Darrell Revis who held that spot a season ago.

David Amerson was the only free agent signing of the offseason at the cornerback position. He’s struggled to stay healthy and has had up and down seasons with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders. Given that the Raiders can’t develop a cornerback to save their life, the hope is that Amerson can be more like his 2015 performance under a new system.

Behind the top three is a group of unproven and young talent. Tremon Smith was drafted in the sixth round of this years draft and has been the talking point during offseason workouts and training camp. He will be a special teams return specialist in 2018 and could see some playing time as he develops throughout the year.

Arrion Springs was a UDFA out of Oregon that has also had his fair share of flashes. I see him making this roster after his good performance in the preseason game. Both Smith and Springs have aggressive talents for getting after the ball that the Chiefs want to instill in future cornerbacks.

D’Montre Wade is exciting and the third cornerback that has been running with the second team defense in camp. He has been a sticky cornerback that has made wide receivers days miserable when I’ve watched him in camp. He’s also playing the left cornerback position and could be another developmental project for the Chiefs this year. However, I don’t see him making the final 53.

While Veach has talked about Will Redmond and Keith Reaser this offseason as guys flying under the radar, I don’t see a reason for either to make the final cut. Both have spent time with the team and have yet to make a move when given the opportunity.