As is often the case with champions, offseason attrition (plus McDuffie’s natural progression) prompted the Chiefs to move McDuffie to a more traditional starting cornerback role, where he proved himself as a top-tier corner over the next two seasons, earning a second-team All-Pro selection in 2024 and posting the second-best coverage grade (87.7) among all corners since 2023, per Pro Football Focus. With one year left on his rookie deal and the Chiefs facing a future in which assets and cap space will be more useful as they attempt to quickly retool their aging roster, now became the time to move McDuffie while it was still possible to recoup a return.
While the Rams proved to be one of the NFL’s top two teams in 2025, their greatest weakness was obvious: secondary. Los Angeles’ coverage unit peaked with a stunning showing in the Rams’ Divisional Round win over the Bears in Chicago, but there was no glossing over their inconsistencies otherwise, especially once the clock struck zero in a 31-27 NFC Championship Game loss to the eventual champion Seattle Seahawks, a heartbreaking defeat in which Sam Darnold delivered a signature performance (25 of 36, 346 yards, three touchdowns) against Los Angeles’ embattled secondary.
The top priority in the 2026 offseason became clear that evening: Improve the secondary in order to ensure this doesn’t happen again. With three corners headed toward free agency, Rams general manager Les Snead is turning back toward the strategy that turned them into a perennial contender and powered the Rams to a Super Bowl victory in the 2021 season, willingly sacrificing immediate top draft capital in order to acquire a proven cornerback in his prime.
Last time around, it was Jalen Ramsey. This time, it’s McDuffie.
The Rams still own the No. 13 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, a pick they acquired from Atlanta last April. The Chiefs now hold two first-round selections: Nos. 9 and 29 overall.
A Southern California native who graduated from Los Angeles County powerhouse St. John Bosco, McDuffie returns home with the same expectations he experienced (and often fulfilled) in Kansas City: Win a Super Bowl.