The Kansas City Chiefs had to make some tough calls this offseason. From letting Jaylen Watson and Bryan Cook walk in free agency to trading Trent McDuffie off to the Los Angeles Rams, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will have to manage a new secondary.
The Chiefs moved up to select LSU star CB Mansoor Delane early in the first round of the NFL Draft, and rightfully so. He's now slotted to be one of the starting cornerbacks in the boundary, and expectations are quite high for him.
However, he won't be the team's lone young star at the position. After a somewhat quiet but promising rookie season, Nohl Williams looks poised for a breakout campaign as the team's other starting cornerback.
The Chiefs shouldn't be afraid to unleash Nohl Williams in 2026
Williams didn't enter the team with much noise as a third-round pick last year. Also, with veteran Kristian Fulton being newly signed, Williams was projected to be nothing more than a rotational piece. That wasn't always the case last season, as Williams made the most of his limited opportunities.
Now, with Fulton coming off an injury-riddled season and with a lofty salary, he's a clear trade (or even release) candidate ahead of the final roster-cut day. That leaves the door wide open for the second-year cornerback to take over.
Opposing quarterbacks had a 54.2% completion percentage in the final three games of the season when targeting Williams. He was a factor against the run, and while he didn't play that much, PFF still graded him the 15th-highest CB (74.5) among 114 eligible players at his position.
The fact of the matter is that the Chiefs would've never let three valuable pieces go if they didn't like who was left to replace them. All eyes will go to Delane, but Williams showed enough promise as a rookie to earn that type of confidence.
The Chiefs' defense struggled to finish plays and put pressure at the line of scrimmage last season. That only puts even more weight on the secondary's shoulders, as opposing quarterbacks often have a clean pocket and enough time and space to move and make big completions.
Hopefully, rookies Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas's addition and the return of Omarr Norman-Lott will help in that regard. But even if that's the case, the Chiefs will need a reliable pair of shutdown corners to keep opposing stars in check, and while they still must prove themselves on the field, it looks like general manager Brett Veach has struck gold with this duo.
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