Steve Spagnuolo offers blunt assessment of revamped Chiefs secondary

The Chiefs wrapped up their second full practice of training camp yesterday morning up in St. Joe. And while the torture of a typical hard-nosed Andy Reid training camp is just beginning and as guys are ramping back up from injuries, there are still ample opportunities for us fans to overreact to padless football.

As they do every day after practice, the Chiefs held media availability with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo speaking first at the podium. He enters the 2026 season, perhaps not having to prove as much as the offensive side of the ball, but with a substantially different unit, player-wise.

The Chiefs ranked top 10 in both points (19.3) and yards (301.5) allowed per game last year. While the simple numbers look good at face value, the underlying issues persisted. Getting off the field on third down was an issue, which certainly correlated with a low sack percentage and poor coverage over the middle of the field by the linebacker unit.

One area of strength, however, was the secondary. But to expect that to carry over when there was a complete overhaul of that position group would be perhaps a little too hopeful. Spags spoke on the new-look cornerback and safety rooms, painting a picture of a young unit, eager to learn and ready to prove themselves.

Chiefs still have lots of mixing and matching to do on the backend to finish the puzzle

Kansas City's biggest addition in free agency on the backend was adding safety Alohi Gilman, a six-year NFL veteran and three-year starter with the Chargers and Ravens. Gilman is meant to be the new leader of the secondary with his wit, big-play ability, and vocal leadership. Spagnuolo spoke on how Gilman is already embracing his new leadership role.

"I've seen a change from the OTA practices from now," he said. "[The defense] was in the red zone today; Nohl Williams made a really big play, and I saw [Gilman] go right over, congratulate him, and want to do a little dance. Something that little showed me what he's all about. He's a cerebral player; hopefully he'll be that going forward."

He continued to speak on how the safety room is shaping up with a sentiment that fans should be pleased but still a bit skeptical about when it comes to Chamarri Conner's expected role.

"He hasn't played as much nickel; he's played more safety," Spags said of Connor's role in both OTA's and training camp. "I think we can always put him [in the slot] in a pinch, but this gives him a little more time deep that he didn't have last year, so I think we'll have a little bit of flexibility with him at both positions."

Chiefs fans are all too familiar with how poorly Conner performs in coverage when in the slot/nickel. His natural position is at safety, and despite it taking Spagnuolo so long to figure that out, let's be glad that he's finally starting to realize where to best utilize the fourth-year DB.

Spags also spoke on how he wanted to find one spot where third-year player Jaden Hicks could prosper. Hicks enters a pivotal year three after being a hyped up fourth-round steal in the 2024 Draft.

"Jaden played a lot of different spots last year. I told him back in the OTA's, I'd like to find one that he can just hone in on and master that, while we experiment with some of the other guys. But he's a guy that we've had a little versatility with the last two years. That won't change; we'll just find out where he's gonna get slotted in."

Lastly, Spagnuolo gave somewhat of a non-answer when asked about sixth-overall pick Mansoor Delane. His answer had me a little worried about the rookie's progression so far.

"With all these rookies, it's a process, right? I've seen him kind of progress. Early on in the rookie training camp, he's needed some time to get his legs under him. But I like the way he's interacting with the guys."

There's not much there, but the fact that Spags couldn't find much to say about Delane's skillset as a player is a little worrisome. Again, it's early, and the Chiefs clearly loved Delane enough to trade up for him from pick nine. But the former LSU star will be a guy I'm keeping my eye on as training camp persists, as well as if and when he sheds that yellow, non-contact jersey.

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