It has been an underwhelming offseason so far for the Kansas City Chiefs after losing both All-Pro Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to the Los Angeles Rams. McDuffie was traded while Watson signed a three-year, $51 million deal in free agency, leaving the cornerback position a little thin.
With the Chiefs not going hard to replace Watson and McDuffie, it is fair to wonder if they are setting the stage for Kristian Fulton to redeem himself. His first season with the franchise was not one to remember, with injuries limiting him to only two starts. He also allowed a career-worst 14.4 yards per completion and 33 yards after the catch, creating some doubt about what he can contribute to the team.
However, as he heads into the second year of his two-year, $20 million deal with the Chiefs, Fulton was not terrible in coverage during the final three games and only gave up a 55.6% catch rate. Even when the Chiefs were not expected to be competitive in the Christmas night game against the Denver Broncos, he had his best game of the season with three tackles and three passes defended, suggesting he may be someone who can fill the void left behind by McDuffie and Watson.
With that said, it will not be easy to replace those two after the impact they made on this defense. However, unless Kansas City makes a splash by signing the likes of Trevon Diggs, Marshon Lattimore, or L'Jarius Sneed, it could roll with Fulton alongside a rookie and Nohl Williams, who will be looking to have a breakout second season after showing flashes in 2025.
Kristian Fulton Could Be in Line to Build Off Strong Finish to 2025 Season
Fulton may have struggled early last season, but he finished strong by holding opposing quarterbacks to 2-of-10 passing for 34 yards in the final two games. Furthermore, while Fulton did not register enough snaps for an accurate grade, Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 61.6, which is above average but not anything that immediately stands out.
To be clear, PFF grades should only be taken with a grain of salt, and a player's performance should not be based on that alone. It is also important to remember that his late-season success came against Cam Ward, Bo Nix, and Aidan O'Connell, who are not the biggest deep-ball threats in the league.
With that in mind, Fulton showed his potential in those games and certainly tempted the Chiefs to keep him around and finish out his two-year deal with the franchise. He is also on a roster that features Williams and Kevin Knowles coming off rookie seasons, in addition to Chris Roland-Wallace, who is coming off a lower back injury.
Recently, the Chiefs signed former Los Angeles Chargers safety Alohi Gilman to a three-year, $24.75 million deal, and currently list Kader Kohou in the starting lineup on the depth chart, so they are putting some pieces together to add some depth to their secondary. However, for a team that ranked 27th in takeaways last season (14), Kansas City faces a tall task replacing its star CBs.
There is still plenty of time for the Chiefs to make a splash in free agency or the draft, but Fulton is definitely in a position to potentially redeem himself as things currently stand. He may have been inconsistent during his first season in Kansas City, but with a strong conclusion to the season and some young and mostly unproven players surrounding him, he could have a fresh opportunity in front of him.