Kansas City Chiefs: The Cornerbacks Contenders

Steven Nelson
5-foot-10, 194 pounds
2nd year

While the average Chiefs fan reading this blog was probably already factoring Phillip Gaines into the cornerback equation, I’m not sure the same can be said for Steven Nelson. Nelson seems to be the forgotten man in KC’s open competition for playing time this season. While many are ready to anoint KeiVarae Russell a starter because KC spent a third round pick on him they seem less enthused about Nelson despite the fact that he was also a third round pick and already has a year of experience under his belt.

The first thing working against Nelson is his height. At only 5-foot-10 and with short arms he doesn’t have the size one would want to start on the outside. That having been said, he is actually one of the more physical corners on the roster. Despite being two inches shorter than Gaines they are about the same weight and Nelson put up significantly better bench press numbers at the combine (19 reps compared to 11 for Gaines). It’s just unfortunate that he isn’t taller because he actually plays the position more like KC wants their outside corners to play than Gaines does.

Nelson has decent speed and agility but he’s not in the same league as Gaines in either. In preseason last year Nelson was usually a step behind his man in coverage and that’s probably why he didn’t see much action outside of special teams. That having been said, in the playoff game against the Texans when Peters had to come off the field at one point the Chiefs sent Nelson out in his place and he actually defended DeAndre Hopkins one on one on the outside. I certainly wouldn’t call Nelson a lock to be one of KC’s top three corners, but I certainly wouldn’t rule him out either. He has the physicality to play outside despite his height and that same physicality could serve him well on the interior too where his height would be less of an issue.

Now let’s look at the rookies…

Next: Contender #3: KeiVarae Russell