The Kansas City Chiefs fell short of a victory in their first preseason game, losing 20-17 to the Arizona Cardinals. While teams care more about the player performance over wins and losses in the preseason, fans still enjoy seeing their team win. That said, Chiefs coaches and fans did get to see some stellar performances against the Cardinals.
After struggling in the secondary last year, Chiefs Kingdom was eager to see how the backups would perform in the first preseason game. In particular, fans were on the lookout for third-round pick Nohl Williams. The 22-year-old hasn't made a ton of noise throughout camp; however, that all changed with his performance on Saturday.
During Saturday night's game, Williams made two nice plays. The first came as a gunner on a punt returner in the second corner. Cardinals punt returner DeeJay Dallas muffed the punt and recovered it, which led to Williams laying a big hit on him.
Check out this BOMB from Matt Araiza followed by the BOOM from rookie 3rd-rounder Nohl Williams #ChiefsKingdom
— Jason Kinander (@WIBWJason) August 10, 2025
It goes as a 67-yard punt for Araiza. Talk about flipping the field! @WIBWsports pic.twitter.com/nEcAcx7VGb
Chiefs Rookie CB Nohl Williams Impresses in Preseason Debut
On the ensuing drive, Arizona would drive down the field and ultimately score a touchdown. Prior to the score, though, Williams made a nice pass breakup in the corner of the end zone. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw a goal-line fade to Tejhaun Palmer in the corner of the end zone, and Williams broke it up.
Nohl Williams with a quality physical rep on the GL Fade.
— Matt Lane (@Matty_KCSN) August 10, 2025
Plays through the hands vs getting lost trying to turn and find the ball. pic.twitter.com/SLD5GQaZgJ
In addition to those two plays, the 22-year-old also recorded a 71.8 pass coverage grade, 73.1 run defense grade and a 73.9 overall grade, according to PFF. Williams showing he can make impact plays on defense and special teams will go a long way in making sure he has a role come the regular season.
Although he was never in danger of getting cut, given he was a third-round pick, many know how he would fit in as a rookie. Currently, Kansas City's starting cornerbacks are slated to be Trent McDuffie, Kristian Fulton, and Jaylen Watson. Despite Fulton being on the Physically Unable to Perform at the moment, the Chiefs paid him $20 million this offseason to start.
Watson, on the other hand, needs to earn his starting spot after struggling when he returned from injury in 2024. If Watson is unable to do that, Williams may take over as a starter with more strong performances. Ideally, Kansas City would prefer Watson to return to form and Williams to continue playing well so that they could have solid cornerback depth this season.