The Kansas City Chiefs invested heavily in their defensive backfield last season, going so far as to draft five defensive backs in the 2022 draft.
That investment paid off, with the “fab five” of Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, and Nazeeh Johnson all playing big roles on Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVII squad.
Now, entering year two, four of those five (Johnson not included due to a recent season-ending injury) make up the core of the Chiefs’ secondary unit. McDuffie is the team’s top cornerback option alongside veteran L’Jarius Sneed, while Williams and Watson project to have big roles. Cook, meanwhile, will start at safety next to sixth-year vet Justin Reid.
Reid, who enters his second season with the Chiefs, played a big role last season in making sure those newbies were ready to take on such important roles in year one.
“The biggest priority for me last year was, since we had so much work on the back end, was to make sure those guys were prepared as possible,” Reid said. “Work with them one-on-one, understand what it’s like to be a professional, practice like a professional, understand the differences in speed and alignments – just the minor details make a difference.
“I knew we (needed) them to come up big for us later in the season (and) they did. Those guys made huge plays for us. Jaylen (Watson had) multiple picks … that experience that we had is valuable for them.”
With the Chiefs leaning heavily on those same defensive backs in year two, Reid’s goal is to make sure there’s no fall in productivity.
“I’m going to stay on them to make sure there is no sophomore slump,” Reid said. “It’s easy to want to relax but you’ve got to keep the pedal to the metal in this league. Good teams turn to bad teams quick and bad teams turn to good teams quick … We’re a competitive group, but it’s a healthy competition, and we’re going to keep building.”