It’d be great if the Chiefs were able to keep Steven Nelson under contract. He proved to be great asset to the team this year. The Chiefs seem set to let a lot of free agents walk during the 2019 free agency period though. The only one they’ve openly worked to keep is LB Dee Ford.
Nelson is already counting down the days until he becomes a free agent. Where might he end up when he hits the open market? Here are six teams who should be very interested in the soon-to-be former Chiefs corner.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos seem content to let Bradley Roby walk in free agency. That means they’re going to have a whole lot of needs in the defensive secondary. Right now their top corner is Chris Harris Jr. and after that it looks pretty bleak. If you’re the Broncos this signing makes a lot of sense. Nelson has the versatility to play inside and outside. He is a year younger than Roby. Plus adding a former Kansas City player to the team would certainly allow for some new drama to the Chiefs-Broncos rivalry.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals did just sign Robert Alford to a big free agent contract, but they still need to find a RCB for when they go into sub package defense. This is probably the preferred destination of Nelson, he’s been training at the Fischer Institute since his days at Oregon State. The question is whether the Cardinals want to spend big on corners in free agency and surround Patrick Peterson with some help.
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Pittsburgh Steelers
This is probably one of the few teams who could use upgrades at any of their corner spots. The Steelers could plug and play Nelson at any of their cornerback spots and he’d likely be an upgrade over whoever played there last season. Their history drafting cornerbacks has been atrocious, so expect them to look to free agency and try to sure up the secondary.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons just released Robert Alford after one of his worst seasons to date. They’ll now look for a new nickel corner. Before playing on the right side for the Chiefs in 2018, Nelson played a lot of nickel corner for the Chiefs. He has the versatility to play multiple spots, but a team like the Falcons could see it fit to recruit him purely for those nickel packages. Especially if they don’t tender free agent DB Brian Poole.
Houston Texans
After releasing former first-round cornerback, Kevin Johnson, the Texans will look to add some corner help. They still have yet to re-sign Kareem Jackson or Tyrann Mathieu either. In 2019 the Texans gave up the fifth-most passing yards to opposing offenses, so they’re probably comfortable letting a lot of these players walk. They should really focus on creating a better offensive line for their franchise quarterback through the draft. If the Texans went the free agency route for corner, Nelson would be a good fit because of his ability to fill multiple roles.
Detroit Lions
The Lions have a ton of cornerbacks, they just haven’t done a good job developing them. That’s why I believe they’ll focus on signing help for the corner group, and end up drafting pass rush help and receivers. Nelson’s valuation could certainly fit under the cap in Detroit, and while their secondary didn’t rank too poorly in 2018, they have a clear need for upgrades in the future.
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