For years, the Kansas City Chiefs did not use early draft capital on the cornerback position. KC has mainly bought low and searched for diamonds in the rough to fill the position under this current regime. But when rebuilding the defense in 2022, one of the new young pieces was brought in via a first-round pick. That was someone from the cornerback spot, as the Chiefs traded up in round one to select Trent McDuffie.
To say that McDuffie has lived up to the hype of his first-round selection, it would be an understatement. The Washington product can simply do it all. He plays sticky man coverage against pass catchers down the field. He creates turnovers in run support and is not afraid to fly around to make a tackle. And in the aggressive Steve Spagnuolo defense, McDuffie is silky smooth at getting home when receiving opportunities to perform defensive back blitzes.
But entering 2024, the third career campaign of Trent McDuffie, will the Chiefs utilize him differently as their top cornerback? With the departure of L'Jarius Sneed, McDuffie will largely step into the role of covering the top opposing pass catcher. However, the versatility of this cornerback will make things fascinating to watch when it comes to his usage. Plus, Kansas City is not afraid to disguise looks and mix coverages post-snap, to boot.
More Time Outside?
It will be intriguing to see how Kansas City divvies up outside cornerback spots at the start of the year. All indications are that Trent McDuffie is expected to see more time on the outside this year. Obviously, covering the opposition's WR1 will feed into that. But when you look at the current cornerback depth chart, keeping McDuffie outside more often may be extremely necessary for the Chiefs' defense.
Each of Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams have had some flashes as late-round picks. However, maintaining a significant role on the outside has been hit or miss for each player. For instance, Watson saw his defensive snaps drop from 605 in 2022 to 440 in 2023. Williams also played fewer snaps in his second year than in year one, having yet to reach 40 percent of the defensive snaps in either campaign.
You also have the potential emergence of Chamarri Conner. A defensive back who has experience in the nickel and at safety, there may be an opportunity for him to garner more snaps in the slot. The comfort and confidence that McDuffie displays could surely lead to a smooth transition on the outside. With the talent level of Trent McDuffie being unquestionably at the top of the cornerback depth chart, Kansas City may believe that sticking him outside is the most crucial thing to keeping a lid on opposing passing attacks.s
Success Inside
All of the numbers regarding Trent McDuffie playing in the slot are truly eye-popping. According to Touchdown Wire, he led the league in slot coverage snaps last year. He tallied 12 total pass breakups when playing in the slot. And most of all, McDuffie made plays on the football from start to end last season.
He forced a couple of fumbles early in the year, namely against Detroit and Chicago. The willingness to crash in and make tackles was steady. Only Justin Reid had more tackles among Chiefs defensive backs in 2023. You can also point to various throws where quarterbacks had hardly any room to fit the ball in and place it beyond McDuffie's arms. His ball skills and nose for the football are easily the best within the Kansas City secondary.
Alignment Changes Coming?
Besides possibly moving more to the outside, is there a chance we see Trent McDuffie play less near the line of scrimmage or as a blitzer? There are many different defensive backs or second level defenders that Spagnuolo attacks with on blitzes. The key to McDuffie's success in that area, though, is the smoothness and quickness at which he gets home. Time will tell if the Chiefs feel like they need to reduce those inside alignments for McDuffie in obvious passing situations.
The changes in alignment may also be on the table in early downs. Trent McDuffie could routinely be asked to play press coverage on third down. But on first or second down, we may see McDuffie align more in off-man coverage. With his athleticism, Kansas City may seek chances to bait passers into underneath throws more often, allowing McDuffie to click and close more than he has previously, as a result.