The most pressing post-draft roster concerns for the Kansas City Chiefs
By Scott Loring
3.) We have a good idea of what the team will do at corner now. But what happens at safety if Juan Thornhill isn’t ready?
Entering the draft, the primary roster concern was at corner. Though the team did not address the position until the fourth round, Chiefs are confident they added some solid athleticism to their cornerback group. General manager Brett Veach was very high on versatile Louisiana Tech defensive back L’Jarius Sneed, and the team would not have sacrificed draft capital in next year’s draft in order to make a pick in this year’s final round unless they knew Thakarius Keyes could make the roster. The team also added Michigan corner Lavert Hill and Javaris Davis of Auburn as highly regarded UDFAs.
As the roster has taken form, it is pretty clear the team is comfortable moving ahead with starters Bashaud Breeland and Charvarius Ward out on the boundary. But the Chiefs don’t often deploy just two corners, and furthermore, the team often used three safeties in 2019.
One big question now is how the team will replace Kendall Fuller, who returned to Washington in free agency. Fuller, who began the year as the team’s nickel back, filled in admirably at safety when rookie Juan Thornhill went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 17. Currently, the team believes 2019’s rookie sensation will be ready to go by August, but if Thornhill can’t be there at the beginning of 2020, Kansas City will lose a lot of their defensive wrinkles that they often implemented in 2019.
One strength of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl defense was being able to move star safety Tyrann Mathieu around the defense. If Mathieu is pigeonholed into one spot on the field out of need, it handcuffs Spagnuolo’s flexibility in how he wants to defend opposing offenses. Daniel Sorensen played out of his mind as a dime safety in 2019, and though he is a quality veteran third safety for the Chiefs, he can’t be counted on in deep zones. Sorensen needs to be up in the box in order to be put in a place to succeed, so the bottom line is, the Chiefs need to have a healthy Thornhill in centerfield in order to do what Spagnuolo wants to do.
When Thornhill went down, Fuller surprised many with his quality play at free safety. The team has had high hopes that third-year reserve Armani Watts could become another option at safety for the Chiefs, but he’s been a disappointment. However, don’t give up completely on Watts, as he’s played just two seasons with two different defensive coordinators.
If the Chiefs have any concern that Thornhill might not be ready for the start of the season, there must be a contingency plan that involves someone other than Sorensen.