Relying on rookie cornerbacks nothing new for Andy Reid and the Chiefs

Since Andy Reid took over in 2013, the Kansas City Chiefs have used a lot of rookie cornerbacks to fill their position.

Nothing is new this season.

The Chiefs employ three rookie cornerbacks on their active roster after drafting Washington's Trent McDuffie (No. 21), Fayetteville State's Joshua Williams (No. 135) and Washington State's Jaylen Watson (No. 243).

This practice has served the Chiefs well over the years, and they hope this type of investment will pay off as it has in the past.

In Reid's first season with the Chiefs, they plugged Marcus Cooper in as a starter for six games, and he ended up with three interceptions and won the Mack Lee Hill award handed out to the top rookie on the team.

In 2015, Marcus Peters was the Chiefs' top selection and immediately contributed. The first-round pick led the league with eight interceptions and won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Kansas City hopes their next former Huskie and first-round corner follows in Peters' footsteps this season.

The Chiefs went back to this strategy between 2018 and 2020, with Charvarius Ward (2018), Rashad Fenton (2019) and L'Jarius Sneed (2020) all contributing in their first years. Ward started two games, Fenton collected two turnovers and Sneed had three interceptions in nine games played.

While it may appear the Chiefs don't value the position by not spending big, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach called it a misconception in an offseason news conference. A couple of months later, he selected the three rookie cornerbacks.

McDuffie plays bigger than his 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame, and will start outside this season. Williams and Watson sit back on the depth chart, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they are called on to play as early as Week 1.

The rookie cornerbacks performed so well in training camp that the Chiefs let go of Deandre Baker and Lonnie Johnson before the preseason even wrapped up.

The room is young — Sneed and Fenton are just 25 years old and are not even on second contracts yet. Chris Lammons rounds out the group and he is 26. 

But the Chiefs believe they have what it takes to play a part in a winning defense.