So the Kansas City Chiefs are taking a chance. By picking cornerback Marcus Peters with the 18th-overall pick, general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid are making a few statements.
For one, the front office and coaching staff is confident in the locker room. Peters has never been in trouble criminally, but has struggled to become a team player. The Chiefs are a young team but also have plenty of veteran leaders in Tamba Hali, Dontari Poe, Justin Houston, Mike DeVito, Derrick Johnson and Eric Berry. Clearly, the brass feels these men, and others, can help Peters grow up a bit.
Secondly, this is clearly a move to shut down passing teams in the division, specifically the Denver Broncos. Last year, the Chiefs could not stop the run with Johnson and DeVito both out due to torn Achilles. Instead of reinforcing the run defense, Kansas City decided to keep Josh Mauga and add to the second-ranked pass defense. The Chiefs are hell-bent on becoming a shutdown passing defense, and I love it.
In this day and age, teams love to spread defenses out. With three quality corners, Kansas City will be ready and waiting.
Does this pick mean the Chiefs won’t retain Sean Smith after his contract expires in 2016? I wouldn’t look that far into it. Kansas City has a bevy of cap space in 2016, so retaining Smith is very much a viable option. And again, you need three corners in today’s NFL. If Peters pans out, the Chiefs have that.