Pro Football Focus ranks Chiefs secondary at No. 10 overall

Pro Football Focus’ secondary rankings are officially out for the 2017 season, and the Chiefs come in at No. 10 overall with questions at cornerback.

If some of you have questions about who the Kansas City Chiefs will slot at starting cornerback opposite Marcus Peters, you’re not alone. The perceived hole on the outside is also worrisome to the analysts at Pro Football Focus, who praise much of Bob Sutton’s secondary while also referencing the issue in their 2017 NFL secondary rankings.

The PFF rankings come in a bit lower than the standard rankings found elsewhere this offseason. Some media outlets have ranked the Chiefs as high as the top five, while several others put them around No. 8. Recently Ike Taylor, former Steelers cornerback, ranked the Chiefs at No. 4 overall at NFL.com. Here’s what Pro Football Focus writes:

"Safety Eric Berry finished 2016 with the sixth highest grade among safeties at 89.2 marking the third time in four years he has graded out within the top 10 of all safeties. Fellow safety Ron Parker had his best season grade-wise finishing as the 23rd graded safety with an 81.9 overall grade. Marcus Peters is an exciting young corner who had 17 combined pass breakups and interceptions last season, tied for the second-most in the league, however fellow projected starter Phillip Gaines finished 2016 ranked 117th of 119 qualified cornerbacks at overall grades at the position, and the Chiefs did not make any significant additions to this unit via free agency or the draft."

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Berry and Parker once again form a safety tandem that’s among the league-best, and Berry specifically can rest easy knowing he’s locked up for what will likely be the rest of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs. Their familiarity will only continue to work wonders in the secondary, especially as they ingratiate themselves with Marcus Peters at cornerback for another season, his third. Berry and Peters especially are impact players who should already be write-in votes for the Pro Bowl.

What Pro Football Focus forgets, however, is that the Chiefs have plenty of young options to potentially step in in that outside slot they mention. Gaines has plenty of athletic potential and the Chiefs invested a third round choice for a reason, but the coaching staff is not afraid to go with the hot hand. Last year, Terrance Mitchell became just that as an in-season free agent signing who played very well down the stretch.

If Mitchell was somehow just a one-year wonder a la Marcus Cooper here in K.C. (who has gone on to enjoy long-term success elsewhere), the Chiefs have other options like Steven Nelson, who profiles best as a slot corner due to size, but plays bigger than that and can easily switch over. He’s even played plenty of outside snaps already. Nelson’s first full year last year was a definite success and a good foundation moving forward.

For some reason, if those other players all fail to step up in a worst-case scenario, even then the Chiefs have young, untested options like D.J. White, Leon McQuay, Ashton Lampkin and Jordan Sterns in addition to veterans like Steven Terrell, Kenneth Acker and DeVante Bausby. Sometimes all it takes is an opportunity to yield the next man up, and the Chiefs have plenty of possibilities in the works, even if it’s currently an uncertainty. That’s what training camp is for.

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