The Kansas City Chiefs are gambling on their own young safeties
By Grant Tuttle
The Downsides
Eric Murray
Last season Murray struggled against bigger receivers. It is important to note that when he came out of college, he played a more hybrid role. For the Minnesota Golden Gophers, his versatility proved useful as he played cornerback as well. In college, he was tasked with covering wide receivers and did so effectively.
However, as an NFL safety, athletic tight ends are a big part of any passing offense. To this point, Murray has struggled in this aspect. He is not a big player and his lack of explosiveness and breaking on routes adds to the problem. Murray must improve on his ability to cover tight ends at the NFL level if he hopes to assume a starting role.
Leon McQuay
It is not easy to find tape to watch on McQuay. In limited snaps, one can tell that infer that McQuay is not a great every down player. He struggles seeing the field in its entirety and gets caught looking. While McQuay has good speed, he lacks explosiveness. To be a successful safety in the NFL, one needs to be able to accelerate quicker to the ball.
Armani Watts
Armani Watts is the guy that many fans want to see become a starting safety. However, he is not perfect and polished coming out of college. Despite his great athletic ability, he does not have great size. This is apparent in his tackling, which is Watt’s weakest attribute. In college, he struggled bringing down ball carriers because of his lack of size and poor tackling technique. Additionally, Watts guessed on passes more than one would like to see, resulting in some big plays given up. Watts has the easiest path to becoming a starting level safety if he can fix these issues.