Chiefs DC looking for specific type of player this offseason
The Kansas City Chiefs will be looking for another guy that can do one thing specifically well in 2023. They are looking for a guy already on the roster to step up and be a guy who can play the nickel or the slot.Sure, they have L'Jarius Sneed, who played over 500 snaps there last […]
The Kansas City Chiefs will be looking for another guy that can do one thing specifically well in 2023. They are looking for a guy already on the roster to step up and be a guy who can play the nickel or the slot.
Sure, they have L'Jarius Sneed, who played over 500 snaps there last season, per Pro Football Focus, and they also have Trent McDuffie, who played 138 snaps there in his rookie season. But there is always room for depth, especially in a crucial position like that one.
Those two will stay the primary guys in that role in 2023. There won't be any change. But they are looking for another guy to play it, possibly in the future.
"I don't think that'll change," defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo told the media last Thursday. "Love for another guy to surface, you know so that when we want to keep LJ [Sneed] and Trent [McDuffie] outside, somebody can go in there. Whether that happens or not. I don't know. If that doesn't happen, and one of those two will be in a little bit of a beat depending on who we're playing what the matchups are. But both those guys can play in there, and we're trying to find another one."
Montrae Braswell, Anthony Cook, Kahleff Hailassie, Martez Manuel, Isaiah Norman, Reese Taylor, and Anthony Witherstone are all undrafted free agents we could see step up into that role. Rookie cornerback Nic Jones and Decaprio Bootle have been working on the outside at camp, so they may stay there.
The fact that Spagnuolo is saying this could mean nothing, or they could be finding another guy to be that second slot guy in case Sneed leaves this next offseason. He is in a contract year, and the money is starting to pile up. They have many guys they need to pay either this year, next year, or the year after.
I don't say it will happen, but there is a chance Sneed leaves because the Chiefs don't want to match what another team gives him. If all goes well, Chamarri Conner could also be a guy we see slide into that role.
The Chiefs are good at preparing for anything and everything that could happen to their roster – this could be another way of doing so.
Featured Image Via Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
