Pro Football Focus is higher on the Kansas City Chiefs secondary heading into the 2022 NFL season than one might expect.
PFF recently ranked every defensive secondary in the NFL, while also assigning them to five different tiers. Not only did the Chiefs’ secondary place No. 14 among all 32 NFL teams, but they also landed in the second tier which is titled, “Minor Question Marks.”
PFF sees the Chiefs’ starting secondary as L’Jarius Sneed and Rashad Fenton at outside corner, first-round draft pick Trent McDuffie at nickel and Juan Thornhill and Justin Reid as the starters at safety. Here is what Renner had to say about the No. 14 ranking for Kansas City:
“While he’s been overshadowed by bigger names on the Chiefs’ roster, L’Jarius Sneed deserves some credit for his play since entering the NFL He’s had arguably the best start to his career of any cornerback from the 2020 draft class. While being asked to move between outside and slot cornerback, depending on where he’s needed, he’s been excellent through two seasons. He made the second-most defensive stops of any cornerback in the league last year.”
Sneed is definitely a player poised to have a big season in 2022. He burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2020, but without Charvarius Ward this season it feels like he’ll be asked to cover No. 1 receivers on a more frequent basis.
As for McDuffie, I don’t think penciling him in at nickel is necessarily the correct choice. He has played some snaps there during the offseason program and he is learning both positions. As Renner mentioned though, Sneed has played slot corner in the past and we could see him shift between those roles again in 2022.
Fenton, who has graded out very well in the analytics world, hasn’t been on the field at all during the offseason program due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.
Thornhill and Reid seem spot-on for now, but I’d be remiss to point out that Daniel Sorensen beat out Thornhill for a starting job in each of the past two seasons. That didn’t last, but it’s also something worth monitoring when training camp resumes. Thornhill says he’s aiming to have an All-Pro season in 2022.
What sticks out most here is that the Chiefs have a lot of young and unproven pieces in the secondary. Even the veteran players like Sneed and Fenton feel like they have bigger question marks than PFF admits.
Some young players in the secondary weren’t even mentioned at all, but they could end up making an impact as well. Third-round pick Bryan Cook and fourth-round pick Joshua Williams, for instance. Both players had really strong performances so far this offseason and could push for playing time if it continues through training camp.
