Kansas City Chiefs: L’Jarius Sneed is playing lights out so far

The Kansas City Chiefs are now 2-0 to start the season after Sunday’s win. While it wasn’t a pretty win, one rookie definitely helped to put another one in the win column.

The Kansas City Chiefs have entered the 2020 season with a lot of questions marks at the cornerback position.

With Bashaud Breeland serving a four-game suspension and Charvarius Ward missing time with a hand injury, it’s up to the young guys at the position to step up. Fortunately, rookie fourth round draft pick, L’Jarius Sneed is answering the call.

In both games so far, Sneed has managed to make his name known by snagging an interception.

It’s not necessarily those interceptions that make him well worth that fourth-round draft pick thus far, though. The NFL’s Doug Farrar says that Sneed’s six catches on 11 targets for 56 yards, no touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 29.2 are what sets him apart.

It’s not like L’Jarius Sneed started the season going up against easy opponents. Both the Texans and Chargers have notable talent at the receiver position, so his start to the season is even more impressive.

While those interceptions may not fully tell how talented L’Jarius Sneed is, any turnover in the Kansas City Chiefs’ favor is certainly beneficial.

Chiefs Kingdom hasn’t really seen a legitimate ballhawk since Marcus Peters’ time in Kansas City. Peters had a knack for pulling down an interception at just the right time and hopefully, Sneed brings that ability back to the Chiefs’ defense. With the Chiefs defense off to a seemingly sluggish start, creating those turnovers is a must.

The Chiefs are fortunate that Sneed is off to such a hot start. With Breeland halfway through his four-game suspension, the injury to Ward, and now a groin injury to Antonio Hamilton this past Sunday, Kansas City’s need at the position becomes even greater.

With a big Monday night matchup against the dangerous Baltimore Ravens, hopefully, Sneed continues to step up in a big way. He’ll need to use his 4.37 40-yard speed against Baltimore’s receivers as well as his aggressive tackling against their ground attack.

With eight solo tackles through two games, it appears as though Sneed is up to the task there as well. That’s the same amount of solo tackles that the rest of the Chiefs’ cornerbacks have combined for so far this season.

While it’s only been two games and there’s still a lot of football left, no one should put Sneed down as an elite player at the position. But if he continues to play lights out like he has been, a Defensive Rookie of the Year award wouldn’t be too far out of reach.