Keenan Allen says Chargers aren’t worried about Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen stirred the rivalry pot a bit when dissing the Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs at a recent press conference.

The rest of the AFC West has been unable to mirror the success of the Kansas City Chiefs ever since Andy Reid arrived in 2013. With six straight winning seasons, five playoff appearances, and three consecutive division titles, the Chiefs keep improving year over year. Last year, they were within a single play of representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.

For Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, there’s reason for hope, however. The Chargers have actually done a brilliant job keeping pace with K.C. all this time and finished a close second in the division last year with Super Bowl hopes of their own. Their roster has very few holes, and just last season, the Bolts broke a nine-game losing streak against the Chiefs.

This offseason, the Chiefs have radically remade their entire defense, which has thrown up the hands of some analysts who aren’t sure what to make of the new look Chiefs just yet. There are still roster holes to be concerned about, yet with a new coordinator, coaching staff, and stars along the front line and secondary, it’s hard to tell just how these Chiefs will perform compared to years past.

If you ask Allen, he’s not concerned.

The secondary is a major part of the team that has been remade. The safeties, however, are now light years beyond where they were in recent years. The thought of Eric Berry playing sounded great, but it rarely happened in divisional play (or against anyone for that matter). The mystery surrounding Berry has been replaced by Tyrann Mathieu and rookie Juan Thornhill, taken in the second round, who should provide a new lockdown tandem for years to come. They are immediately the best safety tandem in K.C. since 2016—the last time Berry could play on a regular basis.

As for the corners, it’s likely that the majority of Chiefs Kingdom would simply nod and agree with Allen. There’s good reason for concern. Yet the Chiefs were paper thin there last year as well and came within an OT coin toss (or an offsides penalty) of sending Tom Brady home.

Kendall Fuller remains in place, while Steven Nelson has been swapped for Bashaud Breeland on the roster. The Chiefs are also hoping Charvarius Ward makes good on a late season stretch where he showed solid potential. From there, Tremon Smith, Keith Reaser and new sixth round choice Rashad Fenton will compete for minutes behind that starting unit.

It’s possible that Brett Veach finds a way to work out a deal at some point to bring in extra talent. The Chiefs have more cap room than they reasonably should at this point, and Veach worked hard to create that room when he could have potentially kept some contributors on hand. He can also easily create more room if necessary with moves at safety and the defensive line—both places of considerable depth.

There’s no doubt the Chargers will be interesting to watch this year. They have a solid roster top to bottom. They’re also stuck in second place looking up at the Chiefs in the standings until they prove otherwise. Allen thinks this could be the year.