Getty Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Rashad Fenton and safety Tyrann Mathieu.
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hrough 12 weeks of regular-season play, the Kansas City Chiefs have PFF’s highest-graded cornerback on their roster: Rashad Fenton.
Fenton — a sixth-round pick of the Chiefs in the 2019 draft — is sporting an 86.8 overall grade by PFF, allowing a 78.7 passer rating and 8.1 yards per reception, which speaks to the breakout campaign the third-year defensive back is putting together in 2021. His play is part of the reason Kansas City’s defense has given up just 11.75 points per game over the past four games.
During his first press conference following Kansas City’s bye week, head coach Andy Reid spoke about Fenton’s play this season, and while he did give kudos to Fenton for his efforts, Reid also took the opportunity to roast the young stud.
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Reid: This Guy Needs Some Sleep
When asked about Fenton, Reid mentioned what sticks out about Fenton during practice.
“[Rashad] Fenton is one of my favorite guys because he’s so mellow and yet he plays so aggressive,” Reid said on Monday, November 29. “If you watch him during practice, he just kind of cruises along and all of a sudden there’s that burst once he gets out there, but if you saw him just walking out onto the field, you go, ‘man, this guy needs to get some sleep,’ but when he plays in practice and when he plays in games, he’s a different guy and a very likable guy.”
Apparently, Fenton looks as mellow as you can be, to the point where he looks sleep-deprived.
Andy Reid on Primetime Flex, Tyrann Mathieu
The Chiefs’ Week 13 game against the Denver Broncos was originally supposed to happen during the day, however, the NFL decided to flex it to Sunday Night Football. Reid spoke about how having a Sunday night game changes a team’s preparation.
“There’s not really anything you have to change that’s immediate in the process,” Reid explained. “Normally you try to get a jump later in the week on the following team because you’re not going to have any time. It’s a late night and you have a relatively early morning without any sleep, so you try to get a jump on the team coming up. At least some coaches do that, but other than that everything is the same.”
Reid also gave an update on safety Tyrann Mathieu, who had some knee swelling prior to Kansas City’s Week 12 win over the Dallas Cowboys but opted to play through the injury.
“He came out actually ok. He was able to push himself through which was amazing,” Reid said. “He’s a tough kid, so tough-minded and that also carries over to the defense. Our players knew that he wasn’t quite where he wanted to be and yet he didn’t say anything, just kind of pushed himself through it.”
With four divisional games left to play this season, the defending AFC champions need to come out of their bye with a sense of urgency. Despite being in first place in the AFC West with a chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the AFC, losing to the Broncos could cause the Chiefs to drop to third place in the division, depending on how the Los Angeles Chargers’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 turns out.
With two weeks of rest under their belts, it’s time for the Chiefs to press the gas pedal to the floor.