{"id":292834,"date":"2025-08-16T13:36:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T13:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/292834\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T13:36:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T13:36:24","slug":"chiefs-hot-takes-the-secondary-is-in-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/292834\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Hot Takes: The secondary is in trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our \u201cLet\u2019s Argue\u201d series, our Mark Gunnels considers the hot takes, wacky predictions and unpopular opinions of Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> fans from all over the world.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs\u2019 secondary is in trouble<\/p>\n

Cornerback Trent McDuffie is undoubtedly one of the NFL\u2019s top five cornerbacks. No matter where he\u2019s lined up, we should feel good about the matchup.<\/p>\n

But after McDuffie, there are certainly a lot of moving parts.<\/p>\n

Before his injury last season, cornerback Jaylen Watson was performing at an All-Pro level. He wasn\u2019t the same after his return. So his play will be a big factor in determining how good the secondary will be.<\/p>\n

Another guy to keep an eye on is newly signed free agent cornerback Kristian Fulton. He\u2019s a very physical player who isn\u2019t scared of mixing things up in the running game \u2014 and he\u2019s improved in coverage each year.<\/p>\n

Then at the last line of defense, it\u2019ll be intriguing to see who steps up as a leader now that Justin Reid is gone. It appears that Chamarri Conner will move back to strong safety \u2014 his natural position \u2014 alongside Jaden Hicks, whom I believe has the group\u2019s highest upside.<\/p>\n

Safety Bryan Cook is still there, too \u2014 and don\u2019t forget that general manager Brett Veach also brought Mike Edwards.<\/p>\n

So while there are a lot of moving parts in the secondary, it comes with a great deal of versatility, too. I expect defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to move guys all around, looking for the combination that works best.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs\u2019 offensive weapons are worrisome<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t get behind this at all.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all aware of the suspension looming over wide receiver Rashee Rice. But when Patrick Mahomes has all of his weapons, this will be the most talented collection of pass catchers he\u2019s ever had.<\/p>\n

I can hear it now: But what about Tyreek Hill?<\/p>\n

Yes\u2026 Hill was the best wide receiver during the Mahomes era \u2014 but taken as a whole, the quality of this wide receiver corps trumps any Kansas City group that included Hill.<\/p>\n

At the top, you have Rice, Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown. And there\u2019s still a guy named Travis Kelce, who appears to be more motivated than ever.<\/p>\n

Further down the depth chart, the Chiefs have the ultimate security blanket: JuJu Smith-Schuster.<\/p>\n

And now the team has a new wild card: rookie wideout Jalen Royals. He has all the physical tools to be a really good player in this league.<\/p>\n

And the best part? Early on, he won\u2019t be under a lot of pressure to perform.<\/p>\n

Why are the Chiefs so lazy about finding good running backs?<\/p>\n

The last (and only) time Veach took a major swing at running back, it didn\u2019t end well.<\/p>\n

Since taking running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Veach hasn\u2019t chosen to expend a high pick on a back. Instead, it\u2019s been running-back-by-committee in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

But to be fair\u2026 unless a team has Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry, the days of having one running back shoulder the vast majority of the load are gone. Most teams have two or three backs who have different traits.<\/p>\n

Before his 2024 injury, Isiah Pacheco was trending toward being a workhorse back \u2014 but after his injury, he just wasn\u2019t the same. Entering the fourth (and last) year of his rookie contract, we hope the team will get the best out of him.<\/p>\n

But even if Pacheco doesn\u2019t impress, he was only a seventh-round pick; Kansas City couldn\u2019t have expected much more from him. Rookie Brashard Smith is also a seventh-rounder. If he makes the team, whatever production he provides will be a bonus.<\/p>\n

Picked up off the street last season, Kareem Hunt provided the Chiefs with excellent value on his return to the team. While he\u2019s not the same player he was during his first Kansas City stint, he\u2019s been very reliable in short-yardage situations where he can use his elite vision.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the forgotten man: veteran Elijah Mitchell. But can he stay healthy? He missed all of 2024 with a hamstring injury. While he\u2019s had a history of injuries, he\u2019s still a dynamic back who shows some burst \u2014 that is, when he\u2019s available.<\/p>\n

But we should always remember that as long as Andy Reid is the head coach (and Patrick Mahomes is the quarterback), Kansas City will always be a pass-heavy team.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just the reality.<\/p>\n

Joshua Williams is good enough to make the roster<\/p>\n

I agree with the first half of this post, but not the second half.<\/p>\n

Like I said\u2026 while there are plenty of question marks in the secondary, there is plenty of talent there.<\/p>\n

After all\u2026 I haven\u2019t even mentioned Kansas City\u2019s third-round pick: cornerback Nohl Williams, who led the NCAA in interceptions in 2024.<\/p>\n

Somebody is going to be the odd man out \u2014 and it very well could be Joshua Williams.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In our \u201cLet\u2019s Argue\u201d series, our Mark Gunnels considers the hot takes, wacky predictions and unpopular opinions of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292835,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,1480,1193,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-292834","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-game-information","10":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-roster","11":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115038714985281347","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}