The Kansas City Chiefs open competition at the cornerback position took another dramatic shift after the season-ending injury to second-year cornerback Nazeeh Johnson was announced on July 30.
Johnson may have been a longshot to start, but he had been getting reps with the first-team defense before his injury. Instead, fellow second-year prospects Trent McDuffie and Joshua Williams are the names to watch in the starting battle according to USA Today Chiefs Wire media member John Dillon.
He named both “standouts” for the early portion of camp — and they were the only two defensive backs on Dillon’s five-man list.
Chiefs CBs Trent McDuffie & Joshua Williams Could Have Early Lead in Outside CB Competition
McDuffie shouldn’t come as much of a surprise here — considering his first-round status and exceptional rookie performance — and veteran L’Jarius Sneed will be in the mix as defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s top weapon in the slot. It’s Williams’ emergence that is the most newsworthy.
“A fourth-round pick who started games for the Chiefs as a rookie, Williams has shown even more flashes of brilliance early in training camp and may need to be considered for a full-time starting role by September’s regular season kickoff,” Dillon relayed on July 31.
“His lanky frame is ideal for swatting balls out of the air and gives Williams plenty of range to make plays on errant or tipped passes, as evidenced by this remarkable play from practice on Tuesday,” he continued, concluding: “An excellent sophomore season by Williams would be a boon for the Chiefs’ secondary, which is looking to generate more turnovers as Kansas City defends its newly won Super Bowl title.”
Year 2 for no. 2 coming 🔜
There were times where seventh rounder Jaylen Watson started over Williams throughout their rookie campaign — but the former hasn’t had as good a camp so far in 2023.
As for McDuffie, Dillon noted that “if [he] wasn’t already being considered Kansas City’s top cornerback, he should certainly be in the conversation for the title after the first week of practices in St. Joseph.”
After a few early highlights throughout training camp, the KC insider expressed that McDuffie’s “stock will continue to rise if he can keep up his exceptional effort on the practice field and in the preseason.”
Chiefs CB Joshua Williams Says KC WRs Are Being ‘Slept On,’ Talks Up Rookie Rashee Rice
Speaking of Williams, the youngster addressed the media on July 30, and he was very complimentary of the Chiefs wide receivers.
“I think all of the receivers as a whole, they’re a great group,” Williams told reporters. “There’s a lot of talented guys. A lot of slept-on dudes, and you can see it, you know, in our seminar sessions, one-on-ones, they’re skillful — everybody has their own little craft, everybody has their own gift that they’re good at, and they’re working.”
“They’re making us better, we’re making them better,” he went on. “And I’m really excited to see what they can do this season.”
Williams also mentioned rookie Rashee Rice by name. “Rashee is going to be a great player,” he stated confidently. “He’s great at attacking the ball. He’s been moving real quick this camp and I can’t wait to see what he’ll do out there on the field.”
As for Johnson’s torn ACL, the fellow CB explained that the teammate will be missed off the field as much as he will be on it. “Nazeeh, he’s been just such a great guy in the locker room,” Williams began. “He’s [also] been doing his thing on the field, especially this camp, so seeing something like that happen to somebody I’m so close with… it hurt to see that.”
Williams added that he’s using the Johnson injury as “motivation” ahead of the 2023 campaign.
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2 Chiefs Cornerbacks Earn Early ‘Standout’ Label at Camp