Coming into the season, there were serious questions about the Kansas City Chiefs’ cornerback room outside of Trent McDuffie. In a L’Jarius Sneed-less world, how would Steve Spagnuolo and Dave Merritt replace that production? Could one of Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson or Joshua Williams step up? Would it be enough?
All of those questions seemed to be answered over the club’s first five regular-season games, as Watson emerged as a legitimate starter in the secondary. In the sixth outing, however, he suffered a fractured ankle that will see him miss extended time (being out for the year seems to be on the table). Without him in the fold, Kansas City goes from having security and depth at cornerback to having McDuffie and… to be determined.
The play of Johnson and Williams hasn’t been the same caliber as Watson, let alone a viable starting corner in the NFL. Despite that, head coach Andy Reid is quite confident in the former to rise to the occasion. Speaking to the media on Monday, Reid tipped his cap to Johnson for coming back from a torn ACL and improving, in his eyes, every week this season.
“Every week, he’s gotten better and stronger and so that’s the main thing,” Reid said. “He’s a good player. Just that he has the confidence in his leg and the leg’s strong and that just happens by playing. Every week it’s been a positive going forward, and he’s ready for the spot. [No.] 2’s (Williams) also been in there, he’s done it, so he knows what it takes. Two different body types, and we’ll need both of them and they both need to step up. Watson was having a heck of a year. Now these guys have an opportunity here to step in and do the same.”
Whether that improvement is indeed occurring is another story. Johnson, who currently ranks third among all Chiefs cornerbacks in snaps played with 106, has surrendered a 99.3 passer rating this season and is posting a 45.3 Pro Football Focus coverage grade that ranks 172nd out of 195 corners in the database. Sunday’s win over the San Francisco 49ers, which saw him get beat by rookie wideout Jacob Cowing deep down the field for a 41-yard gain, likely factored into that. After the outlet awarded Johnson with a season-best 67.7 overall defense grade in Week 4, that number has steadily declined in each of the past two games.
Williams hasn’t fared much better. His sample size is smaller – just 50 defensive snaps and four targets in coverage – yet he’s given up three receptions and his PFF coverage grade is 55.8. On the other hand, the former fourth-round pick has hundreds of snaps of experience in the Kansas City defense and 2023 was easily the best season of his career. Williams’s flashes are legitimate, but the lows are as well.
Thanks to the emergence of safety Chamarri Conner, neither Johnson nor Williams spends much time at all in the slot. Johnson seems far more likely to get any of those reps than Williams, although Conner’s performance suggests that no change should be made. That leaves one man needing to answer the call, much like the Chiefs were campaigning for back in July and August.
Kansas City seems to hope it’s Johnson, and he’ll get the first crack at replacing Watson.
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