The Kansas City Chiefs entered the 2026 NFL offseason with a lot of pieces to pick up if they wanted to make another run at a Lombardi Trophy. Addressing their salary cap situation, a can they have kicked too far down the road, was priority No. 1 for Brett Veach and the front office.
Of course, this meant releasing Jawaan Taylor to free up a good amount of money, and ultimately, trading Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams so that the Chiefs could wipe his contract off the books and that he could receive a massive payday from them.
Well, Kansas City got another bit of bad news as it pertains to the cornerback position on Monday, just after the legal tampering period of free agency began. Star cornerback Jaylen Watson will be joining McDuffie in Los Angeles, as he agreed to a three-year, $51 million deal with the Rams.
Suddenly, it feels like Kansas City is starting from scratch at cornerback.
Chiefs are starting from scratch at CB after losing McDuffie and Watson
Without McDuffie and Watson, the Chiefs undoubtedly need two starter-level players. Kristian Fulton, who was a healthy scratch for much of 2025, is still on the roster, and Nohl Williams, who showed some exciting potential while also looking mentally lost, are the safest bets on the roster.
Joshua Williams, Bryan Cook, and Nazeeh Johnson are all free agents as well, so fans can expect wholesale changes in the secondary. Brett Veach better have a plan, as Kansas City is losing a lot of its key pieces at cornerback.
Free agency is always a place to address such a need, but the options aren't exactly robust at this point. If the Chiefs wanted to spend big money on a cornerback, they likely would have just re-signed Watson. So, adding youthful talent in the draft is Veach's best bet.
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Cornerbacks like LSU's Mansoor Delane would be a dream scenario if he fell to the Chiefs at No. 10 in April's draft. He would provide true CB1 upside for a defense that is now lacking a McDuffie-type player. Delane has the potential to be a shutdown corner in the NFL.
South Carolina's Brandon Cisse is also a traitsy cornerback with a lot of upside that Kansas City could potentially land in the second round. Clemson's Avieon Terrell is an option in a trade-back scenario in the first round, and Indiana's D'Angelo Ponds is a developed, NFL-ready guy in Round 2.
This is classic Chiefs. Steve Spagnuolo has made a living in Kansas City getting quality cornerback play on rookie or cheap deals, and they simply always ship off their veterans. L'Jarius Sneed. Charvarius Ward. McDuffie. Now Watson. Fulton and Williams form the (current) foundation of a new corps that will look radically different in 2026. But don't bet against the Chiefs' ability to make it work.