Don’t get it twisted: If the Kansas City Chiefs get back to the Super Bowl, it will be because of their star talent. That doesn’t mean their current rookie class can’t help along the way, though, and Week 4 was a prime example of that.
Sunday’s 37-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens saw multiple first-year players turn in quality showings. Two of them, running back Brashard Smith and cornerback Nohl Williams, are catching the attention of head coach Andy Reid.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Reid had some big-time praise for his pair of youngsters.
Chiefs Making Concerted Effort to Get Rookie RB Brashard Smith More Reps
Smith, Kansas City’s seventh-round pick back in April, continues to make his presence felt. At first, the SMU product merely seemed to be a feel-good offseason story. His training camp performance put him on many radars, but the Chiefs already had several veteran options entrenched at running back.
That hasn’t stopped the team from ramping up their 22-year-old. Smith played 21 combined offensive snaps in Weeks 1-3, then got 19 on Sunday alone. He set career-highs in rush attempts (4) and receptions (3), delivering seven total touches in his fourth game.
Reid says those efforts were absolutely intentional.
“Both of them have got a little bit more time in these last couple of weeks,” Reid said. “I know offensively, Nags [Matt Nagy] is just trying to increase Smith’s reps every week and putting him in positions where he can do some things. He seems to be handling it good.”
Given the inconsistency of Isiah Pacheco and the limitations of Kareem Hunt‘s current athletic profile, Smith is the Chiefs’ most interesting running back. His vision and patience in the backfield are still a work in progress, as evidenced by his 2.3 yard-per-carry average in Week 4. With that said, his 17-yard catch against the Ravens flashed his ceiling.
Kansas City found itself puzzled with the state of the halfback room to kick off the year. It’s unlikely that Smith is the savior, nor is it fair to expect that from a late Day 3 pick. It is, however, fair to wonder whether he can play a supporting role as an off-speed pitch.
Rookie CB Nohl Williams Making a Name for Himself Early on
Similarly to Smith, Williams is emerging as a legitimately fun option his team can unleash. The third-round selection went from not getting a single defensive snap in Week 1 to logging eight in Week 2. After that, his totals have been 19 and 20, respectively, against the New York Giants and Baltimore.
It may not be a coincidence that the Chiefs‘ secondary — and defense as a whole — looks better with Trent McDuffie being afforded more reps in the slot. Kansas City’s defensive backfield now has more pieces fitting into the correct places. Add in a mad scientist defensive coordinator, and you get some intriguing possibilities.
“Williams, likewise, Spags [Steve Spagnuolo] has put him in a little bit bigger role every week,” Reid said. “He seems to be stepping up. I know he had a couple of nice, physical plays in there against some pretty good receivers. I liked what I saw there.”
He’s so, so physical, WRs have to fight for everything.
Williams’ blend of length and physicality is hard to deal with, and the numbers back it up. On six targets in coverage, he’s surrendered two grabs for 10 yards. That’s a 42.4 passer rating when thrown at, which is tremendous. The advanced data also loves his performance. Among the 162 cornerbacks in the Pro Football Focus database, his 91.0 overall grade and 92.7 coverage grade are both the very best.
Small sample size and all, that’s excellent. The Chiefs find themselves back to .500 on the year, which is at least partially due to some unsung heroes stepping up right out of the gate.
Pair of Chiefs Rookies Getting Serious Praise From Andy Reid