L’Jarius Sneed deserved Mack Lee Hill award as Chiefs top rookie

On Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs announced the winners of their individual team awards. One of those, the Mack Lee Hill Award for the team’s top rookie, went to running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for this production this year. Which meant cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was left out in the cold.

This isn’t a slight against Edwards-Helaire at all. The team’s rookie back enjoyed a solid first season in the league and looks the part of important offensive cog for the foreseeable future. Everyone should be happy that he’s in the fold for the Chiefs offense, and should look forward to even greater things to come as he prepares to enter his second season as a pro.

Instead, the award itself feels like a slight to another rookie. When it comes to identifying impact rookies on the field for the Chiefs in 2020, it’s hard to imagine anyone not saying Sneed’s name in response.

Despite a lack of preseason games and rookie minicamps, Sneed earned a Week 1 start on the boundary for the Chiefs, filling for Bashaud Breeland who began the season with a four-game suspension. Sneed earned two interceptions in his first two games and turned heads with his physical style and impressive agility. He was an athletic marvel who blanketed veterans from the outset, and his knack for making plays on the ball helped the defense turn a corner early.

Remember this: cornerback was supposed to be a major problem area for the Chiefs. For years, fans have wanted the Chiefs to sink a considerable draft investment into the position, yet every year, the Chiefs seemed to pay minimal attention to the position. Coming into this year, with Breeland’s suspension, the Chiefs were rolling the dice with a late fourth-round rookie covering for him. It turned into another incredible find for the Chiefs front office.

Sneed went down in Week 3 with a fractured collarbone, and he remained out until Week 11. It took him a few weeks to work back to max reps, but he became a fixture once again on defense, even as the Chiefs moved him inside and asked him to learn slot coverage instead. He earned his third interception in the Chiefs’ win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 15.

Not only was Sneed a shutdown corner for the Chiefs in 2020, but he was also a hidden gem of a blitzed for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. He had 2 sacks down the stretch in the regular season and added 2 more in 3 postseason games.

Overall, in 9 games and 6 starts in 2020, Sneed allowed only 1 touchdown on 52 targets and held opposing passers to a 59.6 percent completion rate. That means opposing quarterbacks had a rating of 54.2 when challenging Sneed, an abysmal mark. That’s not bad for a corner taken at No. 138 overall.

That’s why none of this has to do with Edwards-Helaire. He enjoyed a fine season with 1,100 yards from scrimmage, a solid 4.4 yards/carry average, and some true standout games against the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. He also looked great in the Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers. As the Chiefs learn how to best deploy his talents out of the backfield, Edwards-Helaire’s numbers will only get stronger in years to come in K.C.

But when it comes to an impact rookie, there was one who turned heads more than any other—turning the team’s biggest weakness into an actual strength. He did so from his first day on the job and remained a brilliant defender down the stretch. Even after missing several games in the heart of the regular season, L’Jarius Sneed was a dynamic defender on a team that needed someone else to step up.

For that, Sneed deserved the 2020 Mack Lee Hill Award.