Things are going to look rather bleak for at least the foreseeable future in the Kansas City Chiefs' secondary.
On Wednesday, the Chiefs decided to trade All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams. They received a bounty of draft picks in return, including the No. 29 overall selection in the draft, but for the time being, it creates a void in the secondary that goes far beyond McDuffie's absence.
One week after trading McDuffie, the Chiefs are also scheduled to lose longtime starter Jaylen Watson. Cornerback Joshua Williams is also out the door, as is Nazeeh Johnson. Oh, let's not forget the team's star safety, Bryan Cook, who will be the single most enticing option on the open market once the new league year begins and free agency gets underway.
The Chiefs secondary looks incredibly thin, but they've confidently worked through this sort of turnover before.
Four years ago, the Chiefs used five draft choices on defensive backs, and every one of those selections turned into positive contributors to Super Bowl-winning defenses. Now general manager Brett Veach is being tasked with replacing them as they hit the open market (or are traded to the Rams).
The loss of McDuffie leaves a void at the top of the depth chart for a team that's going to be radically overhauling a secondary that already needed serious help, especially at safety. Nohl Williams was last year's third-round pick and looks ready to take on a starting role. His physical presence and assumed growth is going to now take on a pivotal role in 2026.
Kristian Fulton is the real x-factor in the Chiefs' secondary. Signed last spring to a two-year deal worth up to $20 million, Fulton was an assumed starter. Instead, he sat as a healthy scratch for most of the season after missing training camp with an injury. He felt like an odd fit all along in the defense until late-season injuries forced him into the lineup and he looked splendid. Just like that, Fulton projected as a potential starter if the Chiefs lost Watson and company.
Without McDuffie, the Chiefs are leaning on an iffy Fulton, whose injury history has to be a major consideration, and an inexperienced Williams. That said, the Chiefs have been here before, having thrust the '22 class into action in a similar way. The results were three Super Bowl trips in four seasons, and it's clear the Chiefs aren't lacking confidence as they remake the secondary once again.