The Kansas City Chiefs’ success in 2023 was defined by the progression of their young defense, led by young talent acquired through the NFL draft in recent years.
Among the unit’s most productive members were 2022 first-round picks George Karlaftis and Trent McDuffie, who bolstered Kansas City’s pass rush and secondary respectively.
While Karlaftis’ efforts were enough to secure him a top spot on the Chiefs’ regular season sack leaderboard, McDuffie’s performance in 2023 turned the heads of the experts at Pro Football Focus who named the second-year defensive back Kansas City’s most improved player.
The most improved player on each AFC West team pic.twitter.com/RkH6wUyRUJ
— PFF (@PFF) February 5, 2024
McDuffie has been worth every bit of the 21st overall selection the Chiefs spent on him. Without his stellar play against opposing receivers, Kansas City’s defense wouldn’t have been able to put together such a dominant campaign in 2023.
Expect the 23-year-old to continue growing in Steve Spagnuolo’s system as he endeavors to help the Chiefs earn their second-straight Lombardi Trophy against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.