The Kansas City Chiefs defense has taken great strides over the past few weeks, helping the team to secure the top seed in the AFC. The success in the secondary has been evident with the increase in takeaways and the slowing down of the opposing teams’ top receivers.
In his first season in Kansas City, Justin Reid is a vocal leader for the unit and has often praised his rookie teammates. The Chiefs’ veteran safety continues to develop a solid bond with the rest of the secondary as they have built the swagger needed for the postseason run.
Reid discussed his on-field relationship with fellow safeties Juan Thornhill and Bryan Cook during Monday’s press conference.
“Yeah, (we have) complete confidence in each other,” said Reid. “We’re the three-headed snake. (We’re) all very smart players. (We) understand route concepts, understand (the) defense. Juan (Thornhill) has been here going into his fourth year, but Bryan Cook and myself, can all play both roles. Bryan will come in and sometimes be in Juan’s role, he’ll sometimes be in my role. Throughout training camp, he even took some of dime reps, too. So, we’re confident in him being wherever he needs to be. And like I said, as experience and the reps under the belt have started to accumulate, you’re starting to see that value start to turn out on the football field. And it’s a good time for that to happen.”
The trio has complemented each other well, flipping safety roles on various defensive packages. The confidence building amongst them has become contagious as players aren’t married to one specific position and are utilized for the best chances of success. Players are playing for each other and not just the stat sheets, which has been a motivation through the winning streak. They’ll look to keep that chemistry at a high point as the team awaits their divisional-round opponent during the bye week.
