Kansas City Chiefs: 3 position battles heating up after preseason Week 1

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KANSAS CITY, MO – MAY 23: Kansas City Chiefs safeties Tyrann Mathieu (32) and Daniel Sorensen (49). (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Defensive Backs

Cornerbacks: Kendall Fuller, Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, Mark Fields, Rashad Fenton, D’Montre Wade, Morris Claiborne, Herb Miller

Safeties: Tyrann Mathieu, Juan Thornhill, Armani Watts, Jordan Lucas, Daniel Sorensen, Harold Jones-Quartey

The Chiefs defense and the secondary in particular has been the most concerning part of the team all offseason. The defense didn’t do a lot to ease these concerns during the preseason game when the Bengals first-string offense marched right down the field on the Chiefs first-string defense and scored a touchdown.

The Chiefs will likely keep around six cornerbacks and four or five safeties on the 53-man roster. The top five safeties seem as good as set with Mathieu, Thornhill, Watts, Lucas, and Sorensen with the only real question being who will start.

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Sorensen has been starting in practice, but Thornhill has been getting all of the hype and Watts had a solid first preseason game. Watts had a couple of tackles and a nice pass breakup at the line of scrimmage. Sorensen is probably the wild card of the group even if he is the “starter” right now. Could we see Sorensen slide down the depth chart or even get cut?

The cornerback group is really the most concerning part of the secondary. Fuller, Breeland, and Ward seem to be sure bets to make the roster, health permitting, but the last three spots are wide open.

The three didn’t play a lot in the preseason game, but Breeland had a big hit on a screen pass early in the game and then got burned a few plays later, but recovered nicely (with the help of an underthrown ball) to break up the pass. Not great to see him get burnt, but nice to see him not give up on the play and make a quick recovery. Overall the first-team defense didn’t look great.

Now on to the guys fighting for the three-six cornerback spots. Wade had been looking like the fourth guy during practices but got himself disqualified on Saturday with an excessive helmet to helmet hit. This, along with the signing of Claiborne, could have him sliding back towards the roster bubble.

It seems at this point that the final cornerback spot will come down to the two rookies. Fenton versus Fields. Fenton was the Chief’s sixth-round draft selection, but Fields has been making more plays during camp and also had a few nice plays in the preseason game, including a third-down pass breakup to force a punt. Luckily for these two, Claiborne is suspended for the first four regular-season games so this competition will likely be extended into the start of the season.

The cornerback depth chart has changed a little over the offseason, but the overarching concern for this position group hasn’t changed a bit. This is still a position group that is concerning and needs a lot of work, but the competition for roster spots is heating up and looking like one to watch throughout the rest of the preseason.

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