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The Kansas City Chiefs added six draft picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and each of those rookies made contributions during the season and postseason. This draft had a mix of offensive and defensive players compared to the 2018 NFL Draft, which was primarily defensive players for the Chiefs. Let’s take a look at Rashad Fenton’s 2019 season and see what we can project for the future.
South Carolina CB Rashad Fenton – 201 overall
Stat |
2019 totals |
| Games played | 12 |
| Games started | 0 |
| Defensive Snaps | 165 |
| Special Teams Snaps | 130 |
| Total Tackles | 12 |
| Solo Tackles | 9 |
| Interceptions | 1 |
| Passes defended | 4 |
| Forced fumbles | 1 |
| QB hit | 1 |
2019 season review:
Chiefs fans didn’t go into this expecting much out of a cornerback drafted in the sixth round. You’ll find that once they saw Fenton called into action, they were pleasantly surprised. Fenton didn’t see his first action on defense until Week 6 of the regular season when Kendall Fuller suffered a thumb injury. He was thrust into action as a young player and he didn’t disappoint.
“Rashad is playing fast,” CB coach Sam Madison said. “When you talk about a guy like Rashad, he’s able to play outside, he’s able to play inside and early on having Kendall Fuller inside, he didn’t really get those reps unless it was walk-through. It was limited throughout the days of practice but now he’s getting those practice plays with Fuller out and he’s playing fast. That’s what we want, these types of football players on the field, and it just pushes everybody else. Hopefully, he will continue to get better. Once again, Juan Thornhill is a rookie and Rashad Fenton is a rookie, so you’ll have those mental lapses here and there. But as long as you’re out there playing fast and trying to make some plays, and he had opportunities, and now you’re able to build off those as a young player. We’re just going to keep feeding him as much as possible and hopefully, he’ll continue to grow.”
Fenton did, in fact, continue to grow. He got his first career interception in Mexico City against the Los Angeles Chargers. Just as he looked to be blossoming as a young corner in the league, Fenton suffered a hamstring injury against the Oakland Raiders in Week 13.
He’d return to action in the final game of the regular season and play a significant role on defense and special teams throughout the playoffs. He recorded one sack, five tackles, a QB hit and a pass defended against the Houston Texans in the divisional round.
2020 season outlook:
Everything about Fenton’s 2019 season suggests that he’s due for a bigger role in 2020. Forget where he was drafted and think about his play on the field. He was dominant against one of the Chiefs’ biggest division rivals in the Los Angeles Chargers. He played more snaps on defense than he did on special teams. He also showed versatility in playing both the outside corner and nickel corner spots.
That’s all before you consider the fact that Charvarius Ward, Alex Brown and Chris Lammons are the only other cornerbacks besides Fenton that are under contract for Kansas City during the 2020 NFL season. That’s not exactly a lot of experience in the secondary to call upon. Fenton could be the longest-tenured corner on the roster next to Ward if the team doesn’t re-sign their own free agents.
The Chiefs might not have much choice than to allow Fenton to take on a larger role next season. Luckily, he’s proven that he’s up for the challenge of playing in the NFL. If he shows improvement over the course of the 2020 offseason, it’s possible that he could secure a starting role on the outside or as the primary nickel corner.
Chiefs 2019 rookie season reviews:
WR Mecole Hardman (Coming soon)
DB Juan Thornhill (Coming soon)
DT Khalen Saunders (Coming soon)
CB Rashad Fenton (You’re here!)
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