Yet again, many fans hung their heads in disappointment following the Chiefs’ choice not to select a cornerback with a high draft pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
Cornerback was a clear weakness during the 2018 season, and the Chiefs have done very little to address the issue. They’re now staring a very thin CB group in the face. Technically, they only have four on the roster right now as they wait for Morris Claiborne to return from a four-game suspension.
They’ve moved Tremon Smith back to cornerback, but he’d been playing running back for the past several weeks. Relying on him to play defense at this point would mean a catastrophic situation must have occurred in the secondary.
The good news is the Chiefs still have several ways that they can improve at the position as the season gets underway.
Option 1: Trust the process
This one is going to be hard for Chiefs fans to swallow – at least initially.
It’s entirely possible that the Chiefs get better at cornerback by doing nothing at all. Maybe they’ll rely on better coaching and scheme. Maybe they’re comfortable not adding any more players and waiting until Week 5, when Claiborne returns from suspension.
It’s possible that they plan for a versatile player like Tyrann Mathieu stepping in and playing slot corner more frequently than we’ve previously seen. This could allow for two things:
- Kendall Fuller could play more on the boundary, which he excelled at in 2018.
- Juan Thornhill would see the field more often in the nickel sub-packages that use two safeties.
Those are two things that fans wanted to see anyway, and the deficiencies at corner might allow them to happen. It’d also allow for players like Charvarius Ward and Rashad Fenton to spend more time taking in the new system as opposed to the trial by fire that we saw in the preseason. This could end up being the best possible scenario for the Chiefs.
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Option 2: Free agency
This option is probably the most likely at this point, and I wouldn’t be shocked to hear that some free agents visit the team over the next few weeks. If the Chiefs suffer any injuries, they could be in a situation where they need a veteran to step in. They’re not going to land anyone who will be a game-changer, but they can certainly strengthen the depth on the team.
Here are a few players that I’d look at:
- Bene Bewikere
- Jalen Myrick
- DeShawn Shead
- Lorenzo Doss
- Jamar Summers
There’s also a possibility that a veteran player gets cut sometime before the start of the season or just after it. That’d be a nice position for the Chiefs to find themselves in.
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Option 3: Poaching
This year, poaching off opposing practice squads could be a legitimate option for the Chiefs. They didn’t have high waiver priority, and even then it’s possible there was no one they felt comfortable claiming and immediately adding to the roster. With poaching, they have more time to do research and evaluate film from the preseason.
These are a few of the cornerbacks I would monitor as the season progresses:
- Jalen Collins, Colts
- Robert Jackson, Browns
- Michael Jackson Sr., Cowboys
- Adonis Alexander, Redskins
All these players have significant upside and could eventually become starters.
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Option 4: Trade
Chiefs fans aren’t going to want to hear it, but this is the most unlikely scenario. There simply aren’t lots of cornerbacks available for trade this early in the season.
There’s one team in the NFL that is very obviously tanking, even if they’re not openly referring to it as such. The Dolphins aren’t just going to ship off every single player and start from scratch, though. To think that a coach with a background in the defensive secondary like Brian Flores would trade any of his top guys is far-fetched.
The biggest barrier for the Chiefs in grabbing a player in trade is optimism. Right now, every team in the NFL is on the same footing and they all have some level of belief that this year could be a good one. No one is running to the table to trade a valuable asset.
The one thing that the Chiefs have going for them is they have a lot of offensive linemen on the roster. Teams are looking high and low for starting-caliber offensive linemen, so this could prove valuable as a trade asset if a corner does become available.
If you think the Chiefs are getting a starting cornerback in a trade before the October trade deadline, I suggest you don’t hold your breath.
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