How could the Chiefs’ defense play without L’Jarius Sneed in 2024? (2024)

Aside from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was arguably the Kansas City Chiefs’ best player in 2023.

The team felt comfortable leaving the fourth-year player on an island against the NFL’s best wide receivers. He proved capable of defending them without safety help, which allowed the Chiefs to shift their coverages and be more aggressive with some of their pressures.

But following their second consecutive Super Bowl championship, the Chiefs balked at retaining Sneed. His age, long-term injury outlook (and the money it would take to keep him) forced the team to trade him to the Tennessee Titans. Given Kansas City’s ability to identify and develop young cornerbacks, it was a move that made sense.

Still, without Sneed, the Chiefs’ defense won’t be able to defend against opposing offenses in quite the same way; the coverages and personnel matching it used with so much success in 2023 will not be nearly as accessible.

It’s hard to tell exactly what that will look like — because during the last three seasons, Sneed missed very few games. But we have one significant data point: the Chiefs’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022’s AFC Championship. After suffering a concussion, Sneed missed all but four of that game’s snaps — which thrust rookie cornerbacks Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson into starting roles.

What can we take away from that game? How could it instruct the Chiefs’ 2024 approach? Let’s take a look.

Use of “1-double” coverages

One way Kansas City helped Williams and Watson was with more “1-double” coverages against the other team’s best wideouts.

Cincinnati’s superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had frequently used his strength and coordination to frustrate the Chiefs’ cornerbacks. So in the AFCCG, the defense was dedicated to selling him out by having a cornerback play man coverage against him — while also keeping a safety over the top to play him in a bracket. This way, Kansas City could cover him from any direction by always having two bodies on him. This also helped deter the contested-catch opportunities that Chase feasts upon.

While this approach allowed the defense to limit Chase’s impact, it also compromised certain aspects of the defense; committing two defenders to one receiver leaves the rest of the unit vulnerable. In particular, the second cornerback faces a lot of pressure; in most instances, he is without safety help.

Still, Williams and Watson are perfectly comfortable when left on an island against most No. 2 wideouts. Even against an elite player like Tee Higgins, both could use their length and physicality to disrupt his releases off the line of scrimmage. While Higgins ended up having a great game against Kansas City, the defense was able to keep him from dominating the game.

But there’s another reason the Chiefs can get away with this approach: their safeties and slot defenders are capable of man coverage. Cornerback Trent McDuffie excels in defending any slot receiver; he can be used by himself in a two-way go. Safety Justin Reid’s size and physicality prevent him from being pushed around on a release, allowing him to stop tight ends in man coverage.

So even without Sneed, Kansas City can still play plenty of man coverage; it will just require having a safety roam over the other team’s best receiver more often — but the Chiefs have the personnel to make that work. If they need to shift help to stop one wide receiver, they have other players who can stop everyone else.

Mixing in more zone coverages

As capable as Watson and Williams are, neither is good enough to hold up in man coverage for every snap of the season. The Chiefs must keep them out of bad situations by using more zone coverage.

But since zone coverages have always been an effective change-up for the team, this shouldn’t be a problem. Over the years, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has found many ways to disguise Cover 2 — typically by dropping his slot defender into the deep half and rotating behind it.

While playing more zone coverage helps prevent putting cornerbacks out there by themselves, they must be able to tackle. Under Spagnuolo, this hasn't tended to be an issue; the Chiefs’ cornerbacks have always been good tacklers. This is because Kansas City prefers corners with the length and physicality to press wide receivers in man coverage — which also helps them tackle. This also means the Chiefs don’t have to hide their cornerbacks in run fits. This makes it easier to run zone coverage.

The bottom line

Earlier in the offseason, I was worried about how the Kansas City defense would handle being without Sneed. While I didn’t think it would fall off a cliff, I thought there would be a noticeable difference.

But after examining what happened in the AFC Championship two years ago, I feel much better. While the Chiefs had to provide more help to their young cornerbacks, they didn’t have to compromise their defense to defend Chase and Higgins. And remember: two years ago, the secondary was filled with rookies. With an additional two years of experience, they should be even better.

When the Chiefs traded Sneed, they weren’t just betting on Williams and Watson. They were also wagering their other defenders could handle the man coverage needed after his departure. If Reid and McDuffie can continue to be successful against slot receivers and tight ends, the Chiefs can provide more help over the top.

At first, it could be a rocky transition. But by the end of the season, however, the defense should be fine. By then, Sneed’s loss will no longer be a point of discussion.