Rashad Fenton deserves more recognition and opportunity for Chiefs

What does the future hold for Rashad Fenton?

Kansas City has several cornerbacks who can play the boundary position. Breeland and Ward have been the starting duo since Week 5, and the return of Sneed will make it more difficult for Fenton to receive snaps in that role. It will be interesting to see how the roles are changed once the rookie returns to the mix.

Due to Mathieu being the primary slot defender, Fenton has seen most of his snaps as the second slot in dime packages since Week 5. Will he see even fewer reps when Sneed returns? The next few weeks will be interesting to see what Spagnuolo elects to do regarding the cornerback depth chart and roles. Does Sneed return to a starting role along the boundary when he fully returns from injury, or do they experiment with him in different roles? Would he replace Breeland or Ward?

The Chiefs have some decisions to make with the unexpected depth at the cornerback position. Looking solely at 2020, taking snaps from Ward to put Sneed opposite Breeland looks like the best scenario. However, Breeland is playing on another one-year contract, and unless they are looking to pay him more this offseason, he likely won’t be on the team next season.

Ward has struggled over the last month, but the Chiefs may want to see if he can get back on track and develop him for a long-term solution. Ward is set to be a restricted free agent this off-season. Sorensen is another unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Given the hybrid role that Spagnuolo has been putting Fenton in, he could be looking to groom the young corner to move on from Sorensen following the season.

We will have to wait and see what the snap counts look like with Sneed’s return, but it seems that Fenton will continue to play a limited role within the defense this year. Even in that limited role, he has been spectacular for the Chiefs defense, and he deserves more credit than he’s been given to this point.