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KC Chiefs: Losing Kendall Fuller will hurt improved secondary

By Leigh Oleszczak

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 17: Kendall Fuller #29 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 17, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 17: Kendall Fuller #29 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 17, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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The KC Chiefs saw their defense improve tremendously in 2019 and Kendall Fuller was a big part in that. He officially won’t be returning to Kansas City for 2020 and that hurts this improved unit.

It’s official – Kendall Fuller won’t be returning to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and beyond. Instead, he’ll be taking his talents to Washington D.C. to play for the Redskins, who actually drafted him in the third round in the 2016 NFL Draft.

While there was a time during the 2019 season where Fuller wasn’t living up to the hype, once he returned from injury and Steve Spagnuolo started moving him around between corner and safety, his value to the Chiefs defense improved greatly.

There was hope – albeit not much – that the Chiefs might figure out a way to re-sign Fuller, but it didn’t seem to be a likely scenario. If the team had to pick between keeping him and Bashaud Breeland, the latter probably would have been the choice due to him being the more solid cornerback.

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With Fuller now officially not returning to Kansas City, the Chiefs cornerback situation continues to be something that needs to be addressed desperately this offseason. As of now, the Chief have Charvarius Ward and Rashad Fenton as their main cornerbacks and while both had nice seasons in 2019, they aren’t necessarily ready to carry the load at the position yet.

The Chiefs can look for a corner in free agency and in the draft, but finding one who can provide what Fuller provided won’t be easy.

Fuller now heads to the Ron Rivera-led Washington Redskins to help them turn things around. He started his career there and after two impressive seasons in Washington, Fuller was packaged to Kansas City in exchange for Alex Smith. He started all but one game in the 2018 season and had two interceptions.

Year two as a Chief wasn’t as kind to Fuller, as he started just four regular season games, but played in 11 total. His ability to play multiple positions in the secondary was when the defense really started to come into its own and not having that in 2020 will be tough. That’s likely why the Redskins were interested in having a reunion with Fuller.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Kansas City Chiefs decide to do at cornerback this offseason because the need is very strong at that position. The Chiefs need to make sure their defense is still up to snuff in 2020 and losing Kendall Fuller hurts – There’s no doubt about that.

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