Kansas City Chiefs: How the Chiefs rookies have performed so far

Sixth Round Pick cornerback Tremon Smith

Even with all of the concern at the cornerback position, Kansas City has been very high on sixth-round pick Tremon Smith. Not only does he look to have the ability and traits of a future starting cornerback, but he also displays elite speed and movement on special teams on kick/punt returns which the Chiefs desperately need.

Smith has looked great during the offseason workouts and training camp. Much like Watts, Smith struggled at times during his first preseason game against Houston. He was forced to come in with the starting defense against Atlanta when cornerback Steven Nelson suffered a concussion on the Falcons first score.

During his time on the field against Atlanta, Smith collected three tackles and a pass deflection. He also logged a nice 37-yard punt return that had me excited and hopeful for what the future holds in his return game.

I still believe that Smith is not ready to start. As a sixth-round pick, he has shown some beautiful flashes of what he can do, but still needs time to develop. However, if Smith were to come in and start for an injury mid-season, I would feel a little more confident. It wouldn’t surprise me if Smith is starting due to injury or poor play from other cornerbacks come to the end of the regular season.