Chiefs: The Dawning of the Age of L’Jarius – L’Jarius Sneed has become a star in the sky of the Kansas City Chiefs defensive backfield. With his birthday on January 21 — one week ago at this writing — his Horoscope sign is Aquarius, if you buy into those kinds of signs. L’Jarius, the Aquarius. Kind of fitting, eh?
What the presence of L’Jarius Sneed has meant to the Chiefs defensive backfield has been of major consequence and will be even more so in the years to come. Thus: “The Dawning of the Age of L’Jarius.” This is not just me makin’ $h!t up either (although, admittedly, that is what I live for).
Ryan Clark is joined in his view by none other than Chiefs GM, Brett Veach!
The significance of Sneed to the Chiefs current defensive scheme can be seen in what it means to Tyrann Mathieu and how Mathieu is utilized. Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride said recently,
“With Breeland a go, the Chiefs can keep CB L’Jarius Sneed inside, and S Tyrann Mathieu can continue to do what he does — which is everything. The dominoes stay in place.”
The cornerback position is often thought of as the hardest position to play in football and of those corner positions, the slot position is thought to be the toughest yet. So, when Sweeney says “inside” he’s referring to the nickel, or slot CB position. While I’m not big on comparisons, the Seattle Seahawks defense of five years ago, often referred to as the “Legion of Boom,” had great LB play (think Bobby Wagner), great Safety play (think Earl Thomas) and great CB play (think Richard Sherman). However, if CB is the toughest position to play in football, then without Richard Sherman, there may have been some Boom lacking in the Legion.
In 2017, Sherman’s last year with the Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers defense ranked 25th in the league. Two years later, after signing a 3-year $39M deal with those 49ers, their defense jumped up to 8th in the league. Of course they made other changes, but a great CB can have that kind of impact on a defense.
What I’m suggesting is that Chiefs Kingdom take a good long look past the era of Tyrann “The Landlord” Mathieu… enough to see that Juan Thornhill will take over there, Willie Gay will take over at LB, and the person who will make it all possible… and get your motor running… is L’Jarius Sneed. In fact, The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades!
When the Chiefs drafted L’Jarius Sneed in last year’s draft, they took him in the 4th round, the 138th pick overall. Nine years earlier, the Seahawks selected Richard Sherman in the 5th round with the 154th overall pick. So, it’s not out of the question for lower round CBs to become some of the best in the league. Sherman has gone to 5 Pro Bowls so far and I think Sneed is headed there in the near future based on the way he plays, footballs-to-the walls all out effort.
“You have long, fast kid with really good ball skills. Really smart, he understands how to play the position. He can play both press – he’s a long big kid that can get up in the face of receivers and play press corner – and he has the instincts and the knowledge to play off-ball also.”
You never know how a CB is going to perform on, or off, the field when he shows up on day one. Third round CB KeiVarae Russell couldn’t make the team in K.C. by September of the same year he was drafted in 2016, and since then he’s bounced around with the Bengals, Chargers, Giants and Packers. So, seeing Sneed excel from the outset has not only been refreshing as a fan to watch, but impressive and ultimately crucial to the way DC Steve Spagnuolo uses all his players in the defensive backfield. Plus, Sneed likes to tackle and blitz when called upon. He’s now third on the team in Sacks:
Most fans are familiar enough with Brett Veach’ record to know he wasn’t just “lucky” when he drafted Sneed. Has Veach had some stinkers? Sure, but by and large, he’s been just as important to the ascension of the Chiefs as anyone. In a piece by Charles Goldman this week called, “Chiefs GM Brett Veach praises development of rookie CB L’Jarius Sneed,” he quotes Veach:
“You know if the talent is there, the coaches will get after it whether it be Coach (Andy) Reid and his staff or Coach (Eric) Bieniemy and his staff and we just got great coaches that find a way to put these players in positions to make plays and they certainly have done that with LJ and he’s been phenomenal all year.”
“Phenomenal.” High praise for sure but likely just the beginning. At 6-foot-1 and weighing in at 195, Sneed has the prototypical size the Chiefs covet. And speed? He ran a 4.38 – 40 yard dash at the Combine last year:
While no one will claim Sneed is Tyreek Hill fast, his speed is a definite advantage for the defense:
However, if you were to ask Ransom Hawthorne, he’d tell you, straight line speed is not all there is when it comes to evaluating cornerbacks who are attempting to transition from the college game to the NFL. However, now that we’ve seen Sneed in action a good part of the season, it’s not too soon to project his abilities forward. While Richard Sherman had 4 INTs in 16 games his rookie year, Sneed has had 3 INTs in 9 games. Sherman had 17 passes defensed in his 16 games, while Sneed has had 7 PDs in 9 games. It was Sherman’s second season when he established himself as one of the league’s elite CBs with 8 INTs and then leading the league with 24 passes defensed. We may be in wait-n-see mode with regard to Sneed’s ceiling, but so far he looks like the real deal.
Heading into Super Bowl LV, ProFootball Focus has L’Jarius Sneed graded as the third best rookie behind the Bucs OL Tristan Wirfs (82.0) and teammate Clyde Edwards-Helaire (75.3) with a grade of 70.6. During the 2020 season, the Chiefs defensive backfield ranked 6th best in the NFL in completion percentage allowed at 62.7. L’Jarius Sneed was a big reason for that:
Tom Brady may want to pick on a rookie CB but in Super Bowl LV, I hope he tries because if he continues to do that, Sneed could be walking away with a pick-6 and a big grin on his face. In his article for SI.com called, “Chiefs’ Need for L’Jarius Sneed Is Becoming Legitimate,” Jordan Foote said this when talking about the success of Sneed and the roles of Juan Thornhill and Tyrann Mathieu, ultimately being used by Spags as a “human chess piece,”
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“This is a domino effect that wouldn’t be made possible without Sneed’s impressive rookie campaign. He answers every time his name is called, doing so with a blend of poise and technique that some veterans struggle to boast. It also helps that he’s a great athlete with good size. Sneed is capable of keeping up with most wide receivers and when it’s time to get physical, he has the sturdy frame to withstand that. There aren’t many glaring weaknesses in his game.”
What has it meant to his development that Sneed has been able to practice against Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce on a daily basis? The answer is obvious, and we can also say without hesitation, that the Chiefs will be a better team in this Super Bowl with a rookie corner on the field. That alone is worth the price of admission!
With L’jarius Sneed getting time in his last season at Louisiana Tech at Safety, it gives Steve Spagnuolo the flexibility he covets to change up defensive looks at the drop of a hat. Foote noted:
“Sneed has the size to be on the outside and the athleticism to thrive in the slot when needed. Not only has his switchable nature helped him, but it’s made the entire secondary evolve for the better.”
Ryan Tracy at RGR Football does an outstanding job of breaking down Sneed’s first INT against the Chargers in Week Two and explaining how Spags uses his DBs interchangeably:
DC Steve Spagnuolo knew what he had in L’Jarius Sneed early in the season. Now, we’re all anticipating his ascension and upside. As I look into my crystal ball and give it a little shake, I see greatness in his future with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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