What to make of the Kansas City Chiefs secondary?
Let’s be honest here. We are well and truly in the quiet time of year for NFL news. This is when bloggers and writers like myself begin to make wild and speculative guesses about what may come to pass in the coming season, fans begin to optimistically hope for a Super Bowl, even if they’re a fan of the Cleveland Browns, and coaches get down to the hard work in preparing their players for another tough year.
What is perhaps newsworthy at this point in time, however, is roster depth changes. Seeing Tyler Bray announced as the second string quarterback was an example of such something noteworthy, and a few says ago we had another slither of news that is worth commenting on. Said news is the announcement of the Kansas City Chiefs current starting secondary.
Andy Reid said Steve Nelson has earned the nickel spot right now. Also noted Phillip Gaines on the outside w/ Marcus Peters.
— Chiefs Reporter (@ChiefsReporter) June 16, 2016
Perhaps the position with the most uncertainty entering this season is corner back. After the free agency departure of Sean Smith to the Oakland Raiders, Marcus Peters was the only established player at the position, and even he had only one good year in the NFL.
It is a somewhat unproven group of players, and the depth comes from a bunch of rookies. However, it is better for the Chiefs to back their second and third year players over their college recruits.
Philip Gaines is the best outside corner for next season, other than Peters, on the roster. While KeiVarae Russell has been heavily supported by many fans to win the starting outside role opposite from Peters, it takes a very special talent to handle such an important role in their rookie season.
Russel is not as accomplished a player as Peters was last off season, and while he has great potential in the long term future, for starting week one Gaines is certainly the more well-rounded player.
At the nickel role, I have been wanting Nelson to prove his worth since he was drafted. When he was drafted in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft, I for one was ecstatic. The tackling ability, the speed and the quickness made him perfect for a slot corner role, a position that is becoming significantly more important as the NFL becomes more and more of a pass first league.
The Chiefs themselves were slaughtered by the Patriots in the playoffs on underneath routes. Julian Edelman and Tom Brady consistently ripped to shreds the Chiefs secondary in the quick passing game and much of it was due to Kansas City’s inability to cover such quick and sharp route running.
Nelson has such an ability, as does Gaines. His quickness is something that leaps off his college game tape. He is exceptionally sharp, quick to turn and mirror receivers and when this is combined with a tackling ability that is rarely seen in corner backs, it makes for a top quality slot corner.
The trio of Gaines, Nelson and Peters, while inexperienced, is a talented group and certainly sets the Chiefs in a position to have a great secondary for the coming years. While it is far from certain that these three will indeed be the starters come Week 1, they are the starters as of now, and that is far from a bad thing.