How does this year’s Kansas City Chiefs roster compare with 2017?
By Drew Brooks
2017 secondary:
Eric Berry, Ron Parker, Daniel Sorensen, Eric Murray, Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson, Terrance Mitchell, Philip Gaines, D.J. White, Kenneth Acker
2018 secondary:
Eric Berry, Ron Parker, Jordan Lucas, Eric Murray, Kendall Fuller, Steven Nelson, Orlando Scandrick, Charvarius Ward, Tremon Smith, Armani Watts
The Chiefs have finally gotten rid of Philip Gaines, but they also are lacking Marcus Peters this year. Peters left a huge hole in the Chiefs’ secondary, but the Chiefs hope to fill that hole with Kendal Fuller, who they acquired in the Alex Smith trade. To replace cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell, Philip Gaines, D.J. White, and Kenneth Acker, the Chiefs have Orlando Scandrick, Charvarius Ward, and Tremon Smith. At safety, the Chiefs picked up Jordan Lucas and Armani Watts.
Kendall Fuller is no Marcus Peters, but he put up some great numbers with the Redskins last season. In 16 games that included 6 starts, Fuller had 4 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 42 unassisted tackles, and 12 assisted tackles. Fuller might not have the coverage Peters had, but he is not afraid of making a tackle, which is a huge plus for the Chiefs’ secondary.
The Chiefs added two cornerbacks from the Cowboys: Orlando Scandrick and Charvarius Ward. Scandrick is a veteran and has been in the NFL since 2010. He did not have a very productive year last season, but will hope to return to his 2013 numbers when he played in all 16 games and intercepted 2 passes, forced 1 fumble, notched 2 sacks, and made 59 unassisted tackles and 5 assisted tackles.
Charvarius Ward, on the other hand, is a rookie. The Chiefs traded for Ward just last Friday, so he likely won’t start anytime soon for the Chiefs. He still bolsters the secondary and has a lot of upside. Another player the Chiefs traded for is Jordan Lucas.
The Chiefs acquired Lucas from the Dolphins for a 7th round pick in 2020 on Saturday. Again, due to being so new to the team, Lucas probably won’t be starting soon for the Chiefs. However, Lucas brings a lot of potential talent to the Chiefs at safety and could see significant playing time if any of the Chiefs’ safeties goes down with an injury.
The last two guys to note are the Chiefs’ rookies Tremon Smith and Armani Watts. The Chiefs drafted Tremon Smith in the 6th round of this year’s draft. Smith earned his way onto the 53-man roster by impressing Dave Toub and is likely to have a larger role on special teams than he is in the secondary, but he’s a guy with a lot of speed and could make an impact in the secondary if the Chiefs need him to.
The Chiefs drafted Armani Watts out of Texas A&M in the 4th round of the 2018 draft. Watts had an excellent preseason performance against the Packers, getting 2 interceptions and 2 tackles. Watts has a lot of potential for the Chiefs and could see some significant playing time with Daniel Sorenseson out with an injury. He has the potential to be starting opposite Eric Berry or Ron Parker.
Next, we’ll take a look at the Chiefs’ special teams.