Trent McDuffie Is Beginning To Gain National Praise

Embed from Getty Images
So far, so good for the Kansas City Chiefs defense. Through the first three games of the 2023 season, the Chiefs defense has only allowed 33 points. Kansas City has rebuilt the defense over the last two years. Outside of Chris Jones and some other veteran depth additions, this is largely a youthful Chiefs defensive unit. Many of those younger pieces have jumped out to positive starts to their respective careers. Yet, one KC defender in particular, cornerback Trent McDuffie, is truly beginning to gain more national praise.

The Washington product unfortunately missed most of the first half of his rookie campaign, due to a hamstring injury. But once he returned to the field, McDuffie immediately began to make an impact. His coverage skills are crisp and smooth. When it comes to making plays on the football, he has continued to make a difference in a variety of ways. Finally, Trent McDuffie has been a willing contributor when needing to help out in run support.

While he has gained more steam lately from a national audience, Trent McDuffie is the exact player that the Chiefs envisioned he would be when drafting him. Kansas City had been longing for a true shutdown, number one cornerback. To say that McDuffie has exceeded expectations, that would be an understatement.

Worth The Wait

We mentioned above that the Chiefs had been seeking a new piece to be their number one cornerback. L’Jarius Sneed is obviously a tremendous versatile piece. But when it comes to being a consistent defender out on an island, one-on-one, Trent McDuffie has already been trusted fully. Kansas City did have Marcus Peters early on in the Andy Reid era. Yet, Peters skill set was not as well-rounded as what McDuffie already presents. Peters offers immense ball skills and can create turnovers at seemingly any instant. However, there is little reliability from the former Chief, in terms of tackling, consistent man coverage and instincts.

General manager Brett Veach and his staff took quite a while to invest highly in the cornerback position. While that strategy did not totally cripple the Chiefs, Kansas City was operating with a limited ceiling. Fans had been longing for an investment in cornerback in the first round. In 2022, the Chiefs traded up eight spots to land Trent McDuffie.

This was a player that many thought would have been drafted by the 21st overall pick. In fact, even Veach mentioned that same sentiment in last year’s press conference after the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In the end, the investment in a player of that caliber at a premium position was completely worth the wait. The same could also be said about the production of Trent McDuffie, especially after his return from a hamstring injury last year.

Size Of The Dog In The Fight

When it comes to drafting cornerbacks, many will focus on the arm length of the defender. Trent McDuffie does not necessarily grade out in the elite tier of that area. Nevertheless, that has not seemed to faze him, whatsoever. We mentioned his production after returning from injury for the second half of last season. His pass breakups were something that truly stood out. Not only was he matching up well with bigger-bodied pass catchers, but McDuffie was creating PBUs in crucial moments.

He was able to help get Kansas City off the field on third down. He was able to frustrate some veteran wide receivers. Most of all, Trent McDuffie displayed that he was not going to back down from any challengers.

Fast forward to the 2023 season, and the mentality and toughness of McDuffie has appeared to grow stronger. His style is seen as savvy. But in reality, the Chiefs cornerback is becoming an extremely tenacious opponent for offensive players to deal with.

He may not always be the leading player featured on the defensive highlight reel. Though, Trent McDuffie seemingly makes the correct play at the most vital of times. He remains focused on the pass catcher, rather than getting caught watching the ball in the backfield. This allows McDuffie to stay in position to make any play in coverage. Moreover, the way in which he gives the ball back to the KC offense is gritty. He avoids blocks and makes stunning hits on skill players. Or, McDuffie will work to attack the football and rip it out, as he did last week against the Chicago Bears.

Leading The Way

Certainly, Trent McDuffie has had a career start that Chiefs fans could have only dreamed about. His superstar potential has still not even been completely reached, of course. His early career beginnings are still being recognized more at a national level, overall. That has begun to increase in the first few weeks of the 2023 campaign.

According to Pro Football Focus, McDuffie has graded out as the best cornerback in the NFL through the first three weeks. His grade of 90.6 is arguably unheard of, especially when it comes to the cornerback position. That spot is easily one of the most difficult to play in today’s pass-happy NFL. On the other hand, Trent McDuffie has only allowed eight receptions for 64 yards so far. That includes no touchdowns allowed and no penalties committed by him. Chiefs defensive backs coach, Dave Merritt, called McDuffie “the best cornerback I’ve ever drafted.”

As his young career continues to expand, Trent McDuffie is already being called the second-best defender by some on the emerging Kansas City defense. Opponents have begun to respect him with how they attack other portions of the Chiefs defense. On top of that, McDuffie is one of the most complete defensive players that KC has had in a long time. Hearing and seeing that materialize at the cornerback spot is simply newfound territory for this Chiefs team.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout the coming days. 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.