Kansas City Chiefs Trade Away Cornerback, Activate Another

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The 2022 NFL trade deadline has come and gone. To say it was exciting, is putting it mildly. Not only was it a wild day altogether, but it was also a record-setting NFL trade deadline. As noted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 10 trades that happened today were the most on a trade deadline day in NFL history. Of course, that does not include other moves from recent weeks. All in all, this has been one of the more memorable trade stretches the league has ever seen. The Kansas City Chiefs did not miss out on the fun, either.

There were a record 10 trades made today, the most ever made on any NFL trade deadline day.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2022

Obviously, the Chiefs acquired wide receiver Kadarius Toney last week. While there were reports of Kansas City being interested in a big-name pass rusher, nothing materialized. They actually traded away a defensive player, in the end.

Cornerback Rashad Fenton has been traded to the Atlanta Falcons. Reports mentioned that Kansas City would be receiving a conditional late-round pick back in return, according to Ari Meirov of Pro Football Focus. The Chiefs twitter account specifically calls the return an undisclosed draft pick.

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— Full Press NFL (@FullPressNFL) November 1, 2022

In other news, rookie Trent McDuffie has been officially activated off the injured reserve list. He will likely make his return this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. A first-round pick this past April, McDuffie has missed the last six games with a hamstring injury.

Let’s briefly look back at Fenton’s time with the Chiefs. Plus, what can Kansas City do defensively, now that McDuffie is back in the fold?

Outperforming Draft Status

Rashad Fenton was part of Brett Veach‘s second draft class in Kansas City. Selected 201st overall in the sixth round in 2019, there were likely little expectations for the South Carolina product. At the very least, no one expected him to turn into one of the better starting cornerbacks that the Chiefs had in a good while. He was certainly not the top cornerback on the depth chart. Yet, Fenton continually improved against top competition and was able to come through to make game-changing plays in crucial moments, often on the biggest of stages.

Being drafted into a Steve Spagnuolo defensive scheme, it was easy to see how Fenton fit in Kansas City. The Chiefs prioritize man coverage under Spagnuolo’s tutelage. By being aggressive, Fenton’s length, ball skills, change of direction skills and instincts paid dividends. Interestingly, he began his career more as a slot corner. That allowed him to provide muscle against the shiftier wide receivers. Eventually, Fenton fleshed out to the outside cornerback position.

Kansas City benefitted by his ability to stay on top of wide receivers. This became vital against wide receivers that added plenty of size. That was especially true inside the division against Mike Williams and eventually Courtland Sutton and Davante Adams this year. Simply put, his feistiness and energy gave the rest of the defense more juice.

During his three and a half years in Kansas City, Fenton started 16 games and appeared in 53 games overall, including playoffs. He was at his peak in the leadup to the Chiefs recent Super Bowl runs. Fenton will always have that Super Bowl LIV win to look back on during his time in Kansas City.

New Defense Fully Taking Shape

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While seeing Fenton go is disappointing to a degree, the move makes sense. Not only is McDuffie returning. But, the other rookie cornerbacks have begun to flash alongside veteran L’Jarius Sneed. Jaylen Watson has been performing well seemingly since the start of the season. As for Joshua Williams, he bounced back against San Francisco after a tough showing against Buffalo. Williams notched his first career interception against the 49ers.

Beyond those younger pieces emerging, Fenton is due for unrestricted free agency this upcoming offseason. His playing time was dwindling with rookie pieces in the fold. In all likelihood, the Chiefs were not going to be re-signing Fenton for 2023 and beyond. If they did, Kansas City would have been sending mixed signals and wasting cap space on a player who would be seeing his snaps go down.

Having McDuffie back will provide a significant boost against top passing attacks in the second half of the season. The Chiefs still have to face teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks during the final stretch. What better time for this specific rookie cornerback to make his return?

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.