The Kansas City Chiefs completed their second week of OTAs on Thursday, and DC Steve Spagnuolo highlighted the growth of the secondary.
In 2022, the Chiefs added a number of rookies and new veterans, featuring players like Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson and Justin Reid. Heading into 2023, it seems that group of players has a much better grasp of the system than they had during their championship season.
“I sat somewhere with them a week ago, and they’re like light-years ahead, and they feel it, it’s different, they are confident,” Spagnuolo said. “The first day we went out there for a walkthrough, the communication — and I’m including Justin Reid in that because last year was all new for him too, even though he was a vet the system was new. And those guys, from a verbal and being kind of tied into that standpoint, they were just gelling.”
When talking about the top corner on the team, the two names that pop up are L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie. Spagnuolo spoke about how he would like to utilize those two players in 2023, and how one of them may need to play in the slot until another cornerback steps up at that position.
“We would never give up on always having Trent (McDuffie and (L’Jarius Sneed) ready to play in (the slot) there. I don’t think that will change,” Spagnuolo said. “I’d love for another guy to surface, so when we want to keep LJ and Trent outside, somebody can go in there.”
Bryan Cook was another rookie that came in and made an impact during his first year in the NFL. Spagnuolo sees Cook’s leadership from last season carrying over to this season with the departure of Juan Thornhill.
“Bryan (Cook) is one of those guys that is a bold, vocal guy. Even last year, as a young guy a year ago, I was impressed with how bold he was,” Spagnuolo said. “Some of these guys come in, and they’re in a position where they have to communicate, and they don’t want to make a mistake, so they whisper it. But the guys who blurt it out, whether they are wrong, whether they are right, I like those guys. Cook was like that last year, and he has carried that into this year.”
As small as it sounds, confidence is one of, if not the biggest keys to a player having success. These rookies came in last year with no idea how walkthroughs, practices, meetings, etc. would go. Yet, they contributed to a Super Bowl-winning season in Kansas City, learning an entirely new system in the process.
This offseason, those players have the experience to come in and feel more confident of themselves in drills and practices. Those small details are monumental to carry over into live-game action set to come when the preseason kicks off in August.
