Kansas City Chiefs have a very bright future at cornerback

L’Jarius Sneed

The Chiefs selected Sneed at the tail end of the fourth round but general manager Brett Veach insisted that he was going to take Sneed at the top of the fourth if he’d had the first pick, which we suppose means the Chiefs had, at least, a third round grade on him.

Sneed was an impressive athletic specimen from Louisiana Tech who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds and came into the NFL with impressive versatility at both corner and safety—a position he played his entire senior season. The Chiefs moved him back to corner and hoped he would take well to Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive ideas. They were absolutely right.

A lot was asked of Sneed immediately and he responded with two interceptions in his first two games, which only built upon the ballhawk reputation he earned in college. What made Sneed’s penchant for creating turnovers even better was that it wasn’t just from being opportunistic, like Marcus Peters could be at times. Instead, Sneed was a blanket on opposing receivers and began his NFL career with an instant ability to disrupt timing and get his hands on the ball.

Unfortunately for Sneed, he broke his collarbone and was forced to miss the better part of Week 3 and the next seven full games. It wasn’t until the bye week came and went that Sneed was even back in practice, and he’s only now making his way back to playing a majority of the defensive snaps.

Fortunately he’s looking sharp even after his return which bodes well for the Chiefs moving forward. Sneed will cost the Chiefs approximately $1 million per year through 2023, a span of time in which he will most certainly provide disproportional production.

Signed through: 2023