The Kansas City Chiefs are asking a lot more from their defense in 2026, and that puts a spotlight on a player who barely had time to make a name for himself last season.
With key pieces gone, the Chiefs need young talent to grow up fast. Jaylen Watson left for the Los Angeles Rams on a three-year deal in free agency, and then Kansas City moved on from his All-Pro running mate, Trent McDuffie, in a pre-draft trade that sent him to the Rams for premium draft compensation. That deal helped the Chiefs land defensive tackle Peter Woods.
Kansas City already had to rebuild at corner after a rough 2025 on defense, even if the struggles weren’t tied to that old starting duo. The club tried to patch things together with veteran L’Jarius Sneed, who returned after two injury-shortened seasons with the Tennessee Titans, and rookie Mansoor Delane, the standout LSU corner taken sixth overall. Delane looked sharp when he was on the field in training camp and preseason, while Sneed’s experience gives the room a steady hand.
But Sneed has dealt with health issues over the last two seasons and is currently listed as questionable because of a lingering knee issue, and that’s where Nohl Williams comes into play. The second-year corner is listed as Sneed’s backup, and after flashing in coverage during a limited rookie sample, he’s been singled out as an X-factor for this season by ESPN’s Ben Solak.
“Next Gen Stats tracking had him with a tight window forced on 34.3% of his targets (seventh among all corners) and an average separation on targets of only 2.3 yards (10th among all corners),” Solak wrote Friday.
“Williams isn't just tight in coverage, but he also creates on the ball. Exactly 20% of his targets ended in a pass defensed or interception, well above the league average for outside corners (14.3%).
Again, we're operating on a small sample here -- only 257 coverage snaps. But there's compelling evidence that Williams isn't just a sufficient corner, but an impactful one.”
The biggest swing point for Williams may be cleaning up the penalties. Solak noted that he ranked fifth among all cornerbacks in penalties per coverage snap at 3.3 percent, and trimming that down could determine how far his game goes in 2026.
In Other News...
Chiefs Have An Obvious Tyrann Mathieu Decision To Make
Tyrann Mathieu has stayed close to the Chiefs since his playing days ended, turning up around practice and remaining part of the NFL conversation through his podcast. The former Kansas City safety was a centerpiece of the defense during his time with the team, and his post-playing presence has made it easy to imagine him one day moving from the sideline to the staff.
Andy Reid has already said he hopes Mathieu eventually chooses coaching, and the fit is hard to ignore from a Chiefs perspective. If Kansas City ever needs a fresh voice in the defensive backfield, Mathieu would make a natural name to watch, especially with Dave Merritt not sounding eager to chase a coordinator path because of family considerations. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Final Roster Direction Is Getting Clearer After Surprising Cuts
The Chiefs kept churning through the bottom of the roster as they continued to sort out who fits best in the building after the latest round of cuts. One of the more notable moves was the addition of tight end Thomas Odukoya to the practice squad through the NFLs International Player Pathway program, a move that gives Kansas City another developmental piece while the team keeps reshaping its depth chart behind the scenes.
Several players also moved on in quick fashion, with guard C.J. Hanson, quarterback Chris Oladokun and running back EJ Smith waived with injury settlements, and defensive tackle Cole Brevard released before Marcus Harris was brought in to take his practice squad spot. The sequence of moves points to a roster picture that is getting sharper by the day, even if a few of the final decisions still leave room for more turnover. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Just Bought Themselves Breathing Room On A Bigger O-Line Concern
The Chiefs have carved out a little more financial breathing room just before Week 1, restructuring Trey Smiths contract to help ease the pressure on a roster still carrying questions up front. By converting $18.54 million of his 2026 base salary into a signing bonus, Kansas City lowered Smiths cap hit for this season by $12.54 million and opened up $13.85 million in cap space, a useful move as the team keeps sorting through its offensive line situation.
Smiths health has been part of the backdrop here, and the longer-term picture is just as important for Kansas City. His cap charge is set to climb over the next two years, and more restructuring could still be in play, which means this is less a clean fix than a way to buy time while the Chiefs manage both their payroll and the uncertainty around one of the key pieces of that line. [Read more 🡒]