Getty Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed
A large factor in the success of the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense through four weeks of the regular season has been third-year cornerback, L’Jarius Sneed.
Sneed has earned an 81.2 overall grade by PFF through the first four games, which ranks fifth among all NFL cornerbacks and is second-best to only defensive tackle Chris Jones (90.8) on the Chiefs.
Yet, Sneed’s most elite play on the field comes as a pass rusher. He has by far the highest pass-rush grade among all corners (92.7), and that’s because he has recorded 3 sacks — one of which was a strip-sack– 2 quarterback hurries, and 1 quarterback hit on 20 pass rush snaps this season, per PFF.
L’Jarius Sneed leads all CBs in pressures and sacks.
Chiefs Urged to Give Sneed a Payday
With Sneed having one year left on his rookie deal and playing at the highest level he has since entering the NFL, Connor Christopherson of Arrowhead Report is urging the defending AFC West champions to give Sneed a contract extension next offseason.
“Sneed is the first true success story for Brett Veach in the NFL draft,” Christopherson wrote on September 30. “All draft picks before him, which includes the entire 2018 and 2019 classes, had too many question marks surrounding them for the Chiefs to consider extending them at the team’s earliest opportunity (after the player’s third year).”
Notice the date on when Christopherson published his piece — that was two days before Sneed took the field on Sunday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. And let me tell you: Christopherson’s case got even stronger after that outing.
Against the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers, Sneed gave up 6 catches on 9 targets for 51 yards and had 7 tackles. He also made arguably the most influential play in the game, which was a strip-sack on Brady in the second quarter that was recovered by Chris Jones in Tampa Bay territory. That play set up Kansas City’s offense for the team’s fourth touchdown of the day.
#Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed blitzes Tom Brady, forces the strip sack, & Chris Jones recovers. #ChiefsKingdom
So, let’s get back to Christopherson’s piece. How much does he think Sneed should get paid?
“It stands to reason that Sneed will ask for more than what (Darious) Williams earned next offseason due to his unique skills as a blitzer and run defender,” Christopherson wrote. “The Chiefs, however, would get some benefits thanks to him still having a year left on his rookie contract. They will be able to spread a signing bonus over more years by leveraging the year left on the contract.
“This means that an extension for Sneed that has a realistic chance of being signed is a three-year, $40M extension on top of the one year remaining on his rookie deal. In new money, Sneed will make a lot more than any slot defensive back currently. The benefit for the Chiefs is that in totality, the contract will be around four years and $44M, which the Chiefs should not have issues fitting in with other contracts they will hand out.”
Sneed Speaks on Beating Bucs
Sneed is one of several current Chiefs players that were with the team during their blowout loss to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. After the Week 5 win, Sneed shared his thoughts on getting revenge on Tampa Bay, albeit during the regular season.
“It meant a lot for the team, everybody,” Sneed said during his postgame press conference. “We had that chip on our shoulder coming in here after we played them last time and [it] didn’t come out well. Everybody came in with a chip on their shoulder [tonight] and it came out well.”