The Kansas City Chiefs made a significant number of offseason additions while simultaneously suffering some subtractions as well. This is an organization that expects to compete for another Super Bowl, especially in what may be Travis Kelce's last year, so it's understandable that general manager Brett Veach would want to leave no stone unturned.
After losing secondary stalwart Justin Reid in free agency, Veach made it an emphasis to add depth to the defensive back room.
That he did, acquiring third-round rooke Nohl Williams in the 2025 NFL Draft but also signing former Los Angeles Chargers corner Kristian Fulton, who has already proven to be a steal of a signing thus far.
Through 2 weeks Kristian Fulton has been stellar, no play (so far) better than this one riding Tremble's hip as he breaks inside & gets the PBU with the offhand pic.twitter.com/GadbSbWx4P
— Garrett Sisti (@GarrettSisti) September 16, 2024
Chiefs Signing Looks Underpaid Already Despite Training Camp Being Weeks Away
One of the more surprising signings was Fulton. Veach is notorious for having never re-signed a significant member of the secondary to a contract, trading L'Jarius Sneed while watching Reid and Tyrann Mathieu walk.
The general expectation is that Trent McDuffie was going to be the first player he re-signs and it still is, but Fulton's contract represents a larger dollar value than Reid's initial three-year one did and suggests that Veach might be changing his tune.
That's what makes it so important. This is an organizational mentality shift, investing in a player who ranked 40th out of 222 qualified corners at Pro Football Focus in 2024. Combined with McDuffie, who ranked second, and Jaylen Watson, who ranked 43rd, that gives the secondary three top-43 players that'll help magnify defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's excellent scheme.
With Joshua Williams, Nazheeh Johnson, Chamarri Conner, and Chris Rolland-Wallace in the fold, this is a secondary that can more that make up for its detriment at safety.
Even though Fulton cost $16 million on an average annual basis, he's a proven player. Chris Jones, George Karlaftis, George Omenihu, and Mike Danna can hold down the defensive line and if this defensive back group can earn its keep, Kansas City will once again have a premier defense that will threaten every offense in the league.
Be grateful, Chiefs Kingdom, because Fulton is underpaid, whether you like it or not.