Kansas City Chiefs should target Sean Bunting of Central Michigan

The Kansas City Chiefs could still be in the market for a corner after trading out of the first round. Could Sean Bunting of Central Michigan be the answer?

With the Kansas City Chiefs adding Frank Clark and taking themselves out of the first round, the focus likely turns to corner to finish off the defensive makeover. Without that first round pick, the Chiefs must look to later rounds, looking to add depth as much as impact.

A player like Sean Bunting, a junior corner from Central Michigan, provides a bit of potential and growth at the position for the future while also providing depth in the current.

Evan Petzold covers Central Michigan athletics and is the assistant sports editor for cm-life.com, the student newspaper for Central Michigan University. He helped provide insight into one of the last prospects the Chiefs brought into town during the draft evaluation period.

Was Sean Bunting’s NFL declaration expected?

No. Not at all.

I was pretty shocked Sean Bunting declared for the NFL Draft. I got some insight on the situation a few days before it happened but when it initially arrived, I was interested in how things would unfold for him. Originally, I thought one more year at Central Michigan would give him a better opportunity to rise up the draft boards. I think a lot of people believed the same. However, he did an excellent job at the NFL combine to increase his draft stock without needing his final year of eligibility.

I think it’s safe to say Bunting is a top-five cornerback in the draft. I like Byron Murphy (Washington), Greedy Williams (LSU), Rock Ya-Sin (Temple) and Deandre Baker (Georgia) ahead of him, but don’t be surprised if Bunting slides into the top three of all cornerbacks on the board come draft night.

Bunting has proved a lot of doubters wrong over the past five years, and I expect him to do the same once he enters the NFL ranks.

Best description of Bunting’s play the past three seasons?

Sean Bunting, over the last three seasons, has been a workhorse in the secondary for CMU. He went from being a reliable starting cornerback to a leader from the 2017 to 2018 season. He was highly overlooked coming out of high school and wasn’t ever expected to blow up like this. I think there was a general understanding that he’d be a good player in the Mid-American Conference, but nobody expected the NFL – except Bunting.

He often talks about playing with a chip on his shoulder, and I think that aspect really showed throughout the last two years. As a junior in 2018, it was clear he gained respect both in the MAC and across the country. Against Michigan State, he did a nice job of locking up Felton Davis III to the point where the Spartans wouldn’t even throw Bunting’s way.

As each game went by, it seems opposing teams respectfully feared Bunting’s talents.

What does Sean Bunting do best?

Sean Bunting’s top characteristic is his ability to quickly turn his hips and run with the receiver. He does a nice job of anticipating routes and thoroughly understands the offensive side of the ball, mainly due to the fact that he was a star receiver throughout his years at Chippewa Valley High School. He likes to get physical and does a near-perfect job in recovery situations.

Conversely, where does Bunting most need to improve?

Well, Sean Bunting is pretty physical which could lead to penalty issues. While he does a nice job of smothering the receiver at the catch point, he could work on being a little more careful that he’s not overly aggressive. He also didn’t backpedal much, so it’s unknown where his skill level is at in that aspect. In press coverage, receivers usually didn’t have an issue getting a quick first step on him, but Bunting recovered with ease most of the time. It’ll be interesting to see how that translates to the NFL game where receivers are much quicker and tougher.

What was he asked to do primarily in the Central Michigan defense? Man coverage? Zone?

Playing left cornerback, Sean Bunting was called on to take action in both press-man and zone coverages. It was a near even split. He did a better job, in my opinion, during press-man coverage due to his ability to run routes as well, or even better, than the receiver.

Can Bunting tackle?

Yeah. Sean Bunting can and will tackle. He’s pretty aggressive, so I don’t think it’s an issue. He does need to get stronger, but that’s something most rookie NFL players need to address regardless. I think something he could struggle with at the next level is being overly aggressive and getting burned, but we will see.

What kind of person is Sean Bunting? Is he a leader?

Sean Bunting is a lead-by-example guy. He’s vocal when he needs to be, but I think most of his leadership comes from his ability to be successful. It’s said that iron sharpens iron, and that’s basically how Bunting operates. Even now, there are incoming freshmen that quote his tweets and talk about how they want to be just like him, but Bunting will be the first to tell them that it didn’t come easy.

A few times during the season, it was pretty evident that he was helping younger guys in the secondary get in position to make plays. In practice, he wasn’t someone I noticed yelling and screaming. Instead, he put his head down and just made plays. I think the same can be said for his on-field play during games.

My Thoughts

Sean Bunting is perhaps my favorite prospect remaining for the Chiefs on defense. While he’s not going to likely be a starter from the outset and may not be a starter his first season, the blend of athleticism, size and youth lead you to believe down the road he could develop into a contributor.

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Fans need to understand, no corner in the second round is going to fix the defense. They can provide depth, and the Chiefs would have a nice group of Kendall Fuller, Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, and Tremon Smith along with, in this case, Sean Bunting. That’s a nice group to work with in Kansas City.

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