Former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Keith Reaser is putting on a real show in the Alliance of American Football through 2 weeks.
It’s only been two games, but maybe Brett Veach knew what he was talking about.
Last offseason, Veach spoke highly of a couple holdover cornerbacks he was hoping would break through for the Chiefs heading into the regular season: Keith Reaser and Will Redmond. The hope was that one or both would blossom given the opportunity and that the Chiefs would have a restocked depth chart after the Marcus Peters trade with Kendall Fuller in house, Steven Nelson, David Amerson (at the time) and the combination of Redmond/Peters to go with any rookie additions.
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Veach was particularly bullish on both Reaser and Redmond last offseason and gave them credit for previous injuries that perhaps kept them from already making an impact in the NFL.
"“Look you still have guys like Keith Reaser and Will Redmond that people don’t really talk about, but Will Redmond was a mid-round pick by the 49ers coming off an injury and Keith Reaser was a guy we liked. I think he was also coming off an injury out of Florida Atlantic a few years back. A lot of people won’t talk about those guys, but when you start stacking those types of players in regards to what is out there in the draft class you feel good about them.”"
Fast forward the story one year and we all know the poor ending. Cornerback was the worst position on the team, devoid of some starting talent, let alone any semblance of depth. David Amerson flopped before the season started, and his replacement, Orlando Scandrick, was benched by season’s end. Kendall Fuller needed time to adjust, and Redmond nor Reaser even made it to the active roster. Steven Nelson was the lone pillar of stability, but even he has a ceiling.
As the Chiefs move forward and try to restock the shelves, Reaser is blossoming a year too late—this time in the Alliance of American Football with the Orlando Apollos. Through only two games, the Apollos are proving themselves to be a force in the AAF, and Reaser’s presence in the secondary has been very positive through two games.
Check out his play on the ball here on a pass to tight end Sean Price, a 6’4, 250 lb. target.
Woodside fails to lead the receiver, allowing Keith Reaser to make another good play against the ball in the air pic.twitter.com/HzXhIObFts
— Arif Hasan, but NFL 🏈 (@ArifHasanNFL) February 17, 2019
Then there’s the biggest defensive play of the entire weekend: a pick-six from Reaser to seal a win for Steve Spurrier’s team.
PICK SIX! Keith Reaser comes up huge! @aafAPOLLOS grab the lead in the 4th quarter. pic.twitter.com/e1g8j4LnHx
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) February 17, 2019
Reaser was hardly a one-week wonder, however. He’d already made heads turn in Week 1 in the season opener against the Atlanta Legends.
Orlando @aafAPOLLOS CB Keith Reaser enters Week 2 as the AAF's highest-graded cornerback. pic.twitter.com/8c113BcEzo
— PFF_XFL (@PFFXFL) February 13, 2019
Reaser, like all AAF players, faces an uphill climb to make it into the National Football League. He’s already spent a few years with the San Francisco 49ers as their fifth round pick in 2014 and the Chiefs had two years to work with him and still moved on. Yet the AAF exists for this very reason, to allow players a chance to gain regular reps in real competition and show what they can do. It’s hard to ignore Reaser at this point.
If Reaser keeps up this level of play, it won’t be long until NFL teams come calling. Perhaps it could even be Brett Veach on the other end.