Kansas City Chiefs: The seven biggest roster battles to watch in training camp
Cornerback
The Contenders:
Kendall Fuller, Steven Nelson, David Amerson, Keith Reaser, Will Redmond, Tremon Smith, Arrion Springs
No position is a bigger question mark entering this season than cornerback. We don’t need to discuss Marcus Peters again, but he’s obviously gone from a position group that was already very thin last season. Steven Nelson is the only returning player in the group with any playing time last season. He’ll play a key role but will that be as a starter outside or as a slot corner? Speaking of slot corners, the Chiefs acquired one of the best in all the NFL in Kendall Fuller. Will Fuller stay as a slot guy exclusively or will he help fill Peters’ void on the outside in the base defense? Of all the Chiefs corners Nelson and Fuller are the two you can count on to play a role but camp battles will help determine what those rolls are.
After Fuller and Nelson the other experienced guy that will get a shot to play early is David Amerson. He looked like a promising press corner a couple of years ago but really struggled for the Raiders last season. The Chiefs clearly believe their system will bring back “good Amerson” and if so he could lock up a starting outside spot in training camp.
The Chiefs then have two other sets of guys with legit chances to make the team and possibly contribute. The first are the veteran guys that didn’t pan out with their first team but still have some upside. Those guys are Keith Reaser and Will Redmond. If they can stay healthy they both have a shot to make the team. The second are the rookies Tremon Smith and Arrion Springs. Both are a little raw but have real talent that the Chiefs seem to believe in.
If you’ve been counting, that’s already seven guys that the Chiefs seem to like and think have a shot to earn a roster spot and/or significant playing time. Then you add to that the fact that the Chiefs are scheduled to bring in free agent corner Bashaud Breeland and it just shows that this position group is probably the most up in the air of any on the roster. That’s why it may be the position competition I’m most interested to watch when camp starts this week.
So what do you think Chiefs fans? Do you agree that these are the biggest competition battles to watch in camp? Are there any key ones that you think I left out? Are you headed to Saint Joseph to watch these battles in person this week? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!