The Kansas City Chiefs made sweeping changes in the secondary this past offseason.
Both of the team’s top cornerbacks departed in the offseason; Trent McDuffie was traded for a first round pick, whilst Jaylen Watson was signed to a three-year, $51 million free agent contract. And safety Bryan Cook also found pastures new, signing a three-year, $40 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 2026 NFL Draft saw the team move up to the sixth overall pick to select Mansoor Delane, the man who was widely regarded as the top cornerback prospect in his class, out of LSU, whilst the team also added former Dolphins slot Kader Kohou and ex-Chargers and Ravens safety Alohi Gilman earlier in free agency.
In fact, at this point it appears that the only starting defensive back from 2025 set to remain as such this coming year is 2023 third rounder Chamarri Conner.
Chamarri Conner In Danger of Losing Starting Spot
Conner has been employed in both the slot and as a more traditional safety during his three seasons in the Midwest. And whilst he is currently listed as the starter, ESPN’s Ben Solak lists him as being potentially on the hot seat and in danger of losing his role – or at least a good chunk of his snaps on defense – to a perhaps unlikely source: fourth round rookie Jadon Canady.
“Over the past two seasons, Conner has surrendered 0.11 EPA per target in the slot (11th worst among DBs with at least 50 slot targets) and a success rate of 53.8% — only 2025 rookie Jacob Parrish was worse.” Solak wrote.
“Enter Jadon Canady. Like Conner, Canady is a fourth-round pick who spent time at safety in the college ranks. But his best play was in the slot, where he finished his career at Oregon. Canady had 19 passes defensed combined over his last two years and will — along with free agent signing Kader Kohou — immediately challenge for the slot job.”
Although Solak concedes that Conner may not be fully ousted from the lineup, he could see both Canady and Hicks, whose role on defense was up-and-down throughout last season, overtake him in the pecking order in the secondary.
“With incumbent youngster Jaden Hicks and free agent acquisition Alohi Gilman, safety is also a crowded room. Conner’s 1,021 snaps from last season are unlikely to be repeated.”
Could Jadon Canady Have A Big Role in His Rookie Season?
Canady started 43 games over the course of his five year collegiate career, the final season of which was spent with the Oregon Ducks.
At 5’10, 181 lb, Canady is physically slightly closer to former Chiefs All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu than the more natural, obvious comparison of being a Trent McDuffie 2.0, but one would imagine that it would be totally possible for him to see time both on the back-end of the defense and at the nickel corner spot.
It is not always hugely traditional for rookie fourth round defensive backs to take on substantial roles, but the Chiefs have been known to thrust Day 3 rookies into the action early on – Conner himself being a main beneficiary of that team policy back in 2023.
Chiefs DB At Risk of Losing Starting Role to Rookie Fourth Round Pick