This time next week, the NFL Draft will be just hours away, and the stakes will be at their highest. For a long time now, it’s been understood that this league is a business like any other, and at the end of the day, if somebody is not performing to their highest capacity, teams won’t hesitate to quickly pivot and take drastic action.
In the case of the Kansas City Chiefs, major trust this offseason has been put on the Chiefs' defensive coaching staff, most notably defensive backs coach Dave Merritt. The team has parted ways with multi-year, Super-Bowl-winning contributors in CBs Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, along with S Bryan Cook.
From the outside looking in, it looks like the Chiefs' cornerback room is devoid of any talent, but that’s not entirely the case. It seems KC is banking on Merritt’s proven track record of coaching and developing young CBs to supersede the lack of proven depth. One veteran’s job on the roster, however, could come into question after what the Chiefs decide to do in the draft.
Chiefs Kristian Fulton May Be Fighting For His Job After Draft
In March of 2025, Fulton signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Chiefs to complement what would have been a very dangerous trio of McDuffie in the slot, Watson, and himself manning either end of the boundary. He’d been a four-year starter with the Chargers and Titans, playing over 60 percent of snaps and allowing below a 60 percent completion rate and just over seven yards per target, per Pro Football Reference.
It was impressive play for a still ascending talent. And at Fulton’s 6’0” 200 lb size, the contract given made sense for both him and Kansas City. However, in his first year with the Chiefs, Fulton barely saw the field. He missed most of the season due to ailing knee injuries and was subject to multiple healthy scratches for whatever reason from the coaching staff.
Fulton got his only real shot to prove himself in the last three games of a lost 6-11 season for the Chiefs, where he played a total of 179 snaps, and surprisingly locked down any receiver he faced in the final two weeks. He was playing so well that teams were purposely not throwing to his side of the field. Some fans have argued that those late-season performances instilled some confidence within the Chiefs' front office and spurred them to wipe out the cornerback room.
I would argue that those events were merely happenstance and not part of some larger plan for Fulton to be able to replace the play of McDuffie and Watson. As things stand right now, Fulton is secured as one of two starting boundary corners opposite second-year potential stud Nohl Williams, along with a mix of Kader Kohou and Chamarri Conner to cover the inside. What the Chiefs lack, however, is high-end talent, which is exactly what the draft is for.
This year projects to be a loaded cornerback class with big outside man coverage players in virtually every round. The Chiefs have been linked to Clemson’s Colton Hood at pick 29, as well as LSU’s Mansoor Delane, as early as their No. 9 selection. Should Brett Veach decide to go that route, $13 million cap hit or not, Fulton’s starting spot would be in jeopardy.
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