Are the Kansas City Chiefs cornerbacks better or worse than 2018?

Reasons to believe they are better

The Chiefs cornerbacks are largely the same unit from the previous year save for one primary substitution: Bashaud Breeland instead of Steven Nelson. For some, this is cause for celebration given how they viewed Nelson’s play (which we’ll get to) and the way they view Breeland. For others, there’s a downside to this as well. First, the upside.

Breeland originally signed a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers last offseason after hitting free agency for the first time since coming up with the Washington Redskins through the duration of his rookie contract. Breeland had earned a nice payday to the tune of $24 million over three years (roughly what Nelson got from the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason), but unfortunately he failed his physical after a cut on his foot got infected while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. Just like that, Breeland was free again. He was also not healthy. It would take months to heal and even more months before he would be ready to play.

Breeland was brought in during the season by the Chiefs and left without a deal. He ended up signing with the Green Bay Packers and played half a season for them. In 7 games, he made 5 starts and had 20 tackles, 4 passes defended and 2 interceptions in less than half a season. Pro Football Focus graded him as average during his stint in Green Bay overall and his individual game scores weren’t great, but it’s important to note that Breeland was just rounding back into shape for much of the time.

This year, Breeland has openly talked about how good he feels and how he was never quite ready last season—that it was almost a mulligan of sorts. Even then, Green Bay reportedly wanted him to return.

Next to Breeland, Kendall Fuller is entering his contract year with the Chiefs. Last year, Dee Ford and Allen Bailey made sure to enter the marketplace with career highs at key stats, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see Fuller looking a bit more focused in 2019. There’s a lot of money to be made for a free agent versatile corner in a passing league. Fuller was already the most consistent force among corners, but his own ceiling should be higher in 2019.

Next to these guys is the promising Charvarius Ward. Ward was a last second addition to the team in 2018 when Brett Veach flipped offensive lineman Parker Ehinger to the Dallas Cowboys for Ward, who was showing strong as a rookie free agent without any room on the roster ahead of him. Fortunately K.C. swept in and acquired his services.

Ward played special teams and observed for most of the season, but down the stretch, the Chiefs finally sat Orlando Scandrick and allowed Ward to grow into a potential starting role. Ward was picked on for his first few starts, including a miserable showing against Russ Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. However, the Chiefs never wavered in their confidence and were duly rewarded with his best showing in the last game of the regular season and two solid performances in the playoffs. He was trusted with starter’s reps in the postseason and he rose to the occasion.

If Breeland is healthy, Fuller is motivated, and Ward is ready, the Chiefs already have their starting trio of young players ready to roll. From there, young prospects like Rashad Fenton (this year’s sixth round choice), Mark Fields (a rookie free agent from Clemson), Tremon Smith (last year’s sixth round pick) and even Keith Reaser (coming off of an impressive run in the AAF) can grow and sort out the depth chart via training camp competition. Each of those guys can only get better with coaching, experience, and the challenge of besting each other—which means good things are ahead.