Chiefs Great Corner Additions: L’Jarius Sneed and Bopete Keyes – Laddie’s article “Chiefs Defense With Willie In It” prompted me to address two more players who were added through the draft: L’Jarius Sneed and Bopete Keyes. I will say from the outset, I think highly of both of these DB’s selected by the Chiefs.
As the draft unfolded, both of these players stood out for me as a “Steal” in the rounds in which they were selected. I also view LB Willie Gay’s selection as such in round 2, but prior to the draft, Gay had two major red flags plus there was no indication from the Chiefs that they were even considering him. Hence I chose Baun… or a trade back at any rate.
L’Jarius Sneed: 6-0, 192, La. Tech
There’s a lot to like about L’Jarius Sneed and one of the biggest reasons that Sneed was selected by Veach was his versatility. Of course the benefits that will immediately get your attention is, he will improve team speed and Sneed has: fast that fits.
An evaluation piece at ArrowheadPride gave Sneed a consensus B grade. Craig Stout felt that his length and aggressiveness were a fit with a high positive for length. In the saem article, Kent Swanson stated Sneed was an “Athlete” and that it was going to be fascinating to see the Chiefs plan unfold for the versatile player that was physical with good ball skills.
I agree with their assessment but give him higher grades due to his versatility and especially his speed: 4.37 – 40 (4.38 at the Combine). So my grade is, A-.
I see that two of Sneed’s attributes and skill-sets dovetail with what what DC Spagnuolo does with his Cornerbacks and Safeties extremely well. Coaching will get rid of bad habits quickly and Sneed should become an immediate contributor on Special Teams. I also think he’ll be worked in, and become, an integral player in the mix for defensive snaps very quickly. He may be validly ranked as a fourth round pick but he has the upside that will change your mind as he builds his play to NFL speed.
The reason Sneed was a 4th round pick is likely due to the competition faced by La. Tech. Be that as it may, I see a great advantage in having added Sneed to our DB mix. Before Miami defensive coordinator Blake Baker was to run the Hurricanes defense in 2019, he was DC at Louisiana Tech for the Bulldogs. Baker said this about both Amik Robertson and L’Jarius Sneed:
“The two biggest attributes both of those guys had and really, you obviously want to find it in a corner, is they could both run.
I watched Amik Robertson come to a camp the day he had gotten cleared coming off a torn ACL and him and [first-round pick Justin Jefferson], the receiver for LSU, you would’ve thought it was the Super Bowl, every single play of those guys going against each other. The same with L’Jarius. Both we’re multi-sport athletes.
Both of those guys were highly competitive”
Sneed was taken #138 by the Chiefs and the very next pick was Robertson taken by the Raiders. The difference is, Robertson is 5-foot-9 and runs a 4.62 while Sneed is 6-foot-1 with a 4.37 to his name.
What I envision is more hybrid possible than many may think and that has higher value in today’s NFL than is going to be allotted. Take a look at his highlight film to get an idea. You can review that, here:
When I take a look at the Sneed numbers for his Senior year at La. Tech, they look very good: 43 solo tackles, 3-Int, 1 pick-6 and 6 PBU’s.
Take a listen to how Sam Madison, one of the Chiefs DB coaches, views the Chiefs 4th round pick:
Sneed glides with his speed when closing or in a run-back after an INT. He just has that natural look of let’s hoot about it speed. The weakness for Sneed is said to be tackling but his 43 solo tackles in 2019 tell a good part of that story too. The Quakers indicate that — form follows function — and Sneed has the willingness. He needs work on technique is my understanding of why he has the knock. The Chiefs coaching staff will resolve this weakness quickly.
If Spags can use his versatility to disguise and conceal which player in which position is doing what, Sneed will find a home with game snaps pretty quickly. It will take time to get him up to the speed of the NFL game but he possesses the speed attribute already. Working on his tackling… “weakness”… will be a factor but requires on the field work with coaches, once the lock-down ends.
“Bopete” Keys: 6-1, 208, Tulane
I know this much: the Chiefs were looking hard at Keyes before the draft, had an informal interview at the combine where he could not perform due to rehabbing from an injury. This appears to have been something that the Chiefs were knowledgeable about at the time. Keyes has what that the Chiefs like: speed, size, and length. All physical attributes highly valued by the Chiefs. Sure, he has weaknesses in his skill, set such as his backpedal, but as I understand it, he is already working on this in “Virtual Camp.”
I cannot post a speed measurement from 2020’s underwear metrics because it doesn’t exist. Maybe we will see something soon. I believe his 40 time is in the 4.3 realm. We must wait and see a current metric look. At no time will you see an observation that he lacks speed. That is not to say that the player lacks speed and as a taller corner he will fit very well in match-ups where his length and speed combined ensures that he gets to where he must be to get a win for the snap in question. He also contests thrown passes at the point of catch extremely well.
Craig Stout, whom I appreciate greatly gave Keyes an A+ Draft rating saying in an article evaluating Chief’s draft picks: “Keyes is a long, athletic cornerback that possesses fantastic ball skills. He’s very raw and lacks some of the instincts he’ll need to get on the field for Steve Spagnuolo, but the overall profile is a slam dunk at this point in the draft. Spagnuolo has now added a lot of length and ball skills in his developmental cornerbacks, knowing that he’s got his starters. I won’t be surprised if one of Keyes or L’Jarius Sneed end up as a future starter for this Chiefs team. I would have given an ‘A’ grade to this pick in the fourth round, so this is outstanding value. Grade: A+”
Please observe in this remark. Stout thinks highly enough of Keyes(and Sneed for that matter) to rate him as highly draft-able in the 4th round. His injury which kept him from participating at the Combine and with the lock-down shutting down “Pro-Days” ensured that the Chiefs would have a shot at getting him and when they decided during the 6th round to trade their future pick, Veach went and got him.
Nate Taylor of “The Athletic” wrote that Keyes was a Steal in the draft. Here is the link for Nate’s article: https://theathletic.com/1800546/2020/05/10/bopete-keyes-expects-to-justify-chiefs-belief-in-him/
After investigating myself I came away with a very positive attitude about why The Chief’s Targeted Keyes as Herbie Teope observed. Turn that page and go to Willie Davis(Chiefs Area Scout) who has a belief in what Keyes can accomplish in 2020:
“With his skill-set and the way we play our defense, I think later on in the season he’ll be able to contribute, even if it’s on special teams starting out… He wants to come up in defensive support in the run game and I think that’s going to help him early on running down on special teams.”
Teope’s article can be found here (however, a subscription is needed).
The more I read, the more I really liked the player.
In High school, Bopete’s first chosen sport was round-ball but his football skill and love developed to the point that in his final season, Keyes was added to the “All Mississippi First Team.” At Tulane, new head coach Bob Fritz, who spoke to the Chiefs about Bopete, said that his length was the attribute that got him aboard. Keyes played in 7 games a a Freshman and wasn’t redshirted.
When investigating Keyes, Chiefs DB coach, Sam Madison, gave him a high evaluation saying:
“I just really loved his energy… There was no real drop-off of his intensity. You’ve got to be relentless, and you can’t be afraid to get beat. You’ve got to step back up there and go at it again. That’s what I saw out of him.”
Since Keyes could not perform at the Combine and since the shutdown precluded any Pro-Day activity, the Chiefs did extensive online interviews with Keyes to vet the player: Steve Spagnuolo, Sam Madison and Dave Merritt spent a lot of time with Keyes in Web sessions and examining film. They determined that he was a fit for the Chiefs defense. It was a matter then, of how to get him aboard. Going back to Willie Davis and his observations:
“If he would’ve tested, I really think this kid would’ve gotten drafted higher, in the fifth round if not the fourth. Unfortunately, he got hurt, and luckily we were able to get back in (the draft) and get him.”
To get a good idea of Keye’s play on defense, take a look at this film:
The Chiefs considered drafting him in the 5th round, but instead chose Mike Danna. Brett Veach had no more picks but then, since Keyes was on the board in the 6th they opted when the opportunity arose, to use their 2021 6th round pick to move back into the 7th round of this draft, in the Titan’s position, and selected Keyes. Bopete will need some coaching for his weak areas but all factors considered, he stacks up well to become an immediate contributor on special teams and to work his way into the mix competing for game snaps as the season progresses.
Summary
That’s good stuff from Sneed, Keyes and the Chiefs. Both players have a high a football IQ, athleticism, speed and aggressiveness and at the same time have a, nose for the ball! I like that a bunch.
David Bell – ArrowheadOne
If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/chiefs-great-corner-additions-ljarius-sneed-and-bopete-keyes/#disqus_thread)