Embed from Getty Images
The Kansas City Chiefs enter 2023 with a handful of spots up for grabs. Once again, wide receiver will be fascinating to watch, in terms of who steps up and produces consistently. Kansas City will also have many opportunities for a defensive line that that is extremely young, overall.
Every team has just one cut day this year. NFL squads will be down to 53 players by Tuesday, August 29th. In just a handful of days, we will officially know who ends up making the Chiefs roster for 2023. In the meantime, we are going to do our best to try and predict who makes the cut, going position by position.
So far, we have listed quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, the offensive line, the defensive line and linebackers. Next up, we move on the defensive backs. Both the cornerbacks and the safeties will be combined into one piece today. This is a younger secondary that has already gained confidence and has come through with the game on the line. Let’s kick it off.
Cornerbacks currently on the roster: L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, Nic Jones, Dicaprio Bootle, Lamar Jackson, Ekow Boye-Doe, Kahlef Hailassie, Reese Taylor, Duron Lowe
Safeties currently on the roster: Justin Reid, Bryan Cook, Mike Edwards, Chamarri Conner, Deon Bush, Anthony Cook, Isaiah Norman
Versatility Growing In Cornerback Room
Embed from Getty Images
The cornerback position had long been a spot where Kansas City had just simply gotten by. For such a premium position, the Chiefs never really leaned on stars or possessed tremendous depth. Yet, the team totally rebuilt the cornerback room in the 2022 offseason, finally investing multiple draft picks in that spot. Trent McDuffie was the star draft pick of the position. In fact, it was a bit surprising that he was still on the draft board when Kansas City traded up to get him. Day three draft picks like Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams each exceeded expectations at times last year, and still found ways to improve their game during their rookie years.
- Feed has no items.
With those younger pieces, the Chiefs have a great mix of athleticism and ball skills. Meanwhile, veteran L’Jarius Sneed has been a versatile chess piece for some time. He can blitz, defend the run close to the line of scrimmage and go one-on-one against bigger-bodied pass catchers, in addition to his stellar coverage against wide receivers. Any of these four cornerbacks can handle a multitude of tasks for the Chiefs defense. More importantly, there is still an opportunity for all of them to get even better.
Leaders On The Back End
Embed from Getty Images
At safety, the Chiefs signed a veteran to be one of their leaders on the back end. Justin Reid was about as good of a replacement as Kansas City could have found for the departing Tyrann Mathieu last year. He gives great advice to his teammates. He is able to do the dirty work in tight areas. Additionally, Reid has a great history of ball production at the NFL level.
Bryan Cook is hoping to reach those heights, as his career continues to grow. A second-round pick in 2022, Cook had to bide his time to receive significant reps. But as last season got deeper and the lights got brighter, Cook flashed brilliant instincts in crucial situations. His play in the postseason sparked both turnovers and key stops against some of the best opposing offenses in the league. Cook is a top defensive breakout candidate for the Chiefs in 2023, overall.
Finally, a veteran free agent addition like Mike Edwards could prove to be beneficial. He has a ton of ball production to his name, as well. It will be interesting to see how Kansas City opts to deploy him in obvious passing situations. Elsewhere, Deon Bush should remain on the roster as a trusted depth piece and special teams ace.
Final Decisions
We are projecting that the Chiefs will keep five cornerbacks and five safeties, as of now. The top four at cornerback is pretty simple to predict. Though, the last spot will be challenging to pick. Rookie seventh-round pick Nic Jones had a solid training camp and first preseason game. But in that preseason showing, he fractured multiple fingers on his hand. We still think Jones will open the season on the 53-man roster. But, how will his injury status look entering Week 1? That could lead to some roster shuffling.
Other cornerbacks like Lamar Jackson, Ekow Boye-Doe and Kahlef Hailassie are still hoping to make a push for the final spot in the last preseason game. They have been impressive at times, too. Dicaprio Bootle has been with the Chiefs organization for a few years. His performance has left a lot to be desired, however.
At safety, the rookie Conner has turned heads many times, which is an encouraging early sign. We mentioned how much Bush provides on special teams. That could be the difference in him getting the final spot at safety over Anthony Cook.
PROJECTED FINAL DEPTH CHART
CB: Sneed, McDuffie, Watson, Williams, Jones
SAF: Reid, B. Cook, Edwards, Conner, Bush
Be on the lookout for our final FPC Chiefs 2023 53-man roster prediction article, which will drop on Sunday. 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.