Chiefs Strange Brew: Bubble DBs in the Blender

Let’s begin with CB’s on the bubble. Everybody is curious about it so here it is. There is a pretty deep crew trying to make the roster! I think BoPete is the best candidate for the CB’s on the bubble so I’ll begin with him.

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BoPete Keyes was drafted in 2020 in the 7th round. Keyes has no real NFL time on his resume and in 2020, he appeared in 8 games and had 8 tackles. I have expectations for Keyes possibly making the roster. Three UDFAs: Dicaprio Bootle, Marlon Character, Chris Lammons. Lammons was a UDFA for Atlanta in 2018. In 2020, with the Chiefs, he appeared in 1 regular-season game and also appeared in the playoffs. In the post-season, he had 3 PDs. We haven’t seen enough of these 4 to be able to ascertain their future as a Chief. If any of these players make the roster it will likely be BoPete. It’s a wait-and-see situation for all these young players.

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The Deep Guys

As far as Safeties are concerned, we have our “Usual Suspects” here as well. The Leader of the pack is, of course, Tyrann Mathieu.

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There are no debates about Mathieu’s play. The only question I have is, when does he get an extension?

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Next on my list of Safeties who make it is Juan Thornhill. Thornhill suffered a serious injury and when he came back he struggled. By the end of 2020, he was once again playing top-level football. Dan Sorensen is a Spagnuolo favorite and one of the players who has a high football intellect. In prior years, I viewed him as a possible departure, but his style of play fits well in the Spagnuolo defense schemes as he adds versatility from the safety position. Armani Watts – I had elevated Watts to a starter quality player until he suffered a core body injury a couple of years ago. It has taken him time to get back to form. He is my 4th Safety, but may be superseded by the signing of Will Parks. At this point, I feel that Parks is a good fit with Tyrann Mathieu and he has veteran experience.

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The question would become will they keep five safeties? Six? How many is too many and how do they do it? Someone will fall to the wayside, at least from the 53-man roster framework. This early In trading camp it’s tough to figure out which leads to players on the bubble.

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On the Bubble Players

Devon Key: 6-foot-0, 208 lbs., UDFA Rookie, W. KY U.

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Key has support and mentorship from Mathieu, but perhaps even more importantly, Dave Toub loves the guy’s effort, work ethic, and toughness on S/T’s. A lot more has been touted about Key the past week of camp, like his football IQ. Unless the outlook has a downturn, all factors are telling me Key will make the Roster.

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Rodney Clemons: 6-foot0, 209 lbs., Chiefs UDFA in 2020 – SMU

Clemons was a UDFA last year and was likely signed because of his ability to hit.

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It’s at this point that the bubble players make the grade or not. For now, I like Devon Key, which may shift my thinking about Watts in 2021. Parks I have making the roster because he can also play CB, and has more extensive NFL time.

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How the Player Fit

I see a group of 5 players who are “locks” for the CB group (see above). It is my view that both Deandre Baker and Mike Hughes are to become fixtures in the defense. The best fit is for L’Jarius Sneed to play the slot.

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From what we know, Spags plans to use him when two CB’s are called for in the set. Playing Sneed in the slot is also the position of greatest need. There are no “ifs” about this. When the Chiefs deploy 3 or more CBs, Sneed should be moved inside. If they use 2 CBs he will be one of the outside two. Playing the slot is the more difficult role to play with no sideline to aid in defending the receiver.

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If that can be accomplished, it will be, because Charvarius Ward, Rashad Fenton, Deandre Baker, and Mike Hughes rise to the level of play that is expected from all three players. Fenton will account for the 5th CB in this primary group, and other than Ward has the most NFL experience. Rashad will have an important contribution to make and the five players will provide a formidable defensive force with which the opposing team’s Offensive Coordinator must contend.

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Baker and Hughes both add dimension to the CB group modifying what Rashad Fenton brings to the effort. Fenton has better speed and has found his niche. He can play both slot and outside, but is better suited for the latter.

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The Chief’s plan for the nickel and dime coverages are the reason both men fit. If Baker and/or Hughes are as good as I think they are going to be, the basic problem is solved. Fenton is best suited outside, though he has played the slot. If Baker ascends to a starter-type role on the outside, DC Spagnuolo has far less worry and will use L’Jarius Sneed in the slot. That is crucially important for the defense.

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Baker’s skillset should quickly surpass that of Rashad Fenton. Perhaps the same is true for Hughes as well. Regardless of who would be that CB, the mix of those three should handle the assignment efficiently. Although both players recorded a 4.5+ 40 yard dash, neither Baker nor Hughes was viewed as a risk in covering receivers at this level by NFL analysts.

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Mike Hughes was earmarked to be a slot defender at Minnesota due to necessity and not fit. That’s why he was available to the Chiefs when Veach made the trade to obtain his services. Like Baker and Fenton, he is the best suited for a Zone-based defense though he too falls short related to having “speed” on his resume. Thus far in training camp though, Hughes and Baker both, are playing very well. We have yet to see them in-game situations for Spags defense and at this point, I don’t regard either as a risk to the secondary. How Spagnuolo uses them will be of significant interest.

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Adding in the Safeties

The one thing we do know about the safety group is that it is deep and versatile. We expect Spags to use variations of how players are deployed and we know he disguises looks and coverage assignments, which is how he used Tyrann Mathieu in 2020.

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Juan Thornhill was back to his former self by the end of 2020 and Dan Sorensen is the hybrid for up in the box. Will Parks can also be used similarly though with more directed responsibility and we are hearing a lot about Devon Key in Training camp. With the talent and depth that the Chiefs have at Safety, the CB group, will depend on how well Spags utilizes their strengths and avoids putting them in coverage where their weaknesses are exploited.

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Spags needs to put the secondary in a position to play “Downhill” and a stronger front-7 is going to make that possible. The defensive line is going to be stronger and capable of bringing pressure while Willie Gay and Nick Bolton are going to be able to defend the short and intermediate routes and zones, thus reducing the time and the DBs need to be in coverage.

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If the Chiefs offense again puts points on the board effectively giving the team the lead, it aids the defense in all aspects. Other teams will be forced to go vertical, playing right into the hands of Spagnuolo’s defense. We have yet to see the Chiefs playing in a preseason game, so, more will soon become evident.

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It’s possible Veach could engineer a trade after the first pre-season contest and the Chiefs do have depth on the OL and WR with which to barter. Then there will also be potential players to add at Alchemy Day (August 31, four days after the last preseason game, when all teams must be down toe the 53 man roster limit).

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Bottom Line

We have one CB that we must keep on the field and that is L’Jarius Sneed. The Chiefs have what appears to me to be a future all-star type player in Sneed. Veach must try to draft a CB who is good at man, who has the speed and coverage skill on the deep ball yet can stay close on the catch point.

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Negative: Although K.C. has one CB they must keep on the field (Sneed), there’s 4 other CB’s without tremendous experience. More speed is also needed to help cover deep threat. While this may dictate that Veach must go after a speedy CB in the near future, this negative view doesn’t mean that the CB Group won’t be good, it should be better than 2020. However, there exists the inherent risk due to lack of experience.

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I have great faith in DB coaches, Dave Merritt and Sam Madison, who work wonders in their leadership and coaching abilities. Plus, they’re both respected as ex-players who had a lot of success.

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Historical View

The Chiefs need to keep building the group toward becoming a dominating threat to any team and that is tough to accomplish in the pass-happy NFL of today. What this makes me see is the history of things. It makes Don Coryell look like a visionary, doesn’t it? Here’s an example of his coverage.

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The Overall View

The weakness of the overall group members relates to back-end speed and experience, not their ability to play the positions. To illustrate the possible coverage, I doubt a Cover 3 (just 3 DBs) or its hybrid is going to be called upon as base orientation for the Secondary. I can see where a “match-up zone” (combining elements of man-to-man and zone) might be used with regularity. That zone could be disguised as a defense look of a Cover 0 defense (Cover 0 is man coverage, because there is 0 help deep) as an example, which blossoms from match-up at the LoS and shifts to zone play.

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We saw that in 2020 — a shift from match-up press-man at the LoS and then converting in the flow of a play to zone-hand-off coverage. What I want to see is aggressive physicality at the LoS. Tie up the receivers and knock them off their route-timing and stride before their route begins. That adds recovery time for those WR to get back on track. If the front end of the defense is doing its job, the amount of time for the WRs to get open is reduced. That spells success of DBs.

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Much will depend on the Safeties and Linebackers and what role they are assigned. The Safety group is one of the Chiefs strongest, so it will be fun to see how Spags deploys and assigns coverages, something to watch for in preseason games. Let’s also hope the Linebackers are as good as we anticipate, in pass coverage assignments.

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Fenton, Baker, and Hughes appear to be competing as the 2nd outside Cornerback opposite Charvarius Ward. It appears how they are approaching it with Sneed manning the slot defender role. When you fold in the use of the Safeties, something that Spagnuolo does with Mathieu and Sorensen, it creates a dynamic where the teamwork will ensure a polished result. Here’s a look at the Chiefs Depth Chart offered by Matt Derrick, with just the CBs posted by Laddie Morse:

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I am intrigued by Spag’s defense schemes, fully believing that 2021 is going to be a fun year to see the secondary development. Spags will play with the opponent’s gray matter, whether it’s the receiver or QB. It may turn out to be Steve Spagnuolo’s best year yet. There is just too much to cover in a single article, let alone a series. For now, we wait. We watch. We Learn. It will unfold before our eyes. 

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David Bell — ArrowheadOne

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