The Chiefs opened their season on Monday night against the Broncos, but before Kansas City kicked off, a handful of familiar faces had already taken the field in Week 1 with new teams. And for a roster that watched several defensive pieces walk out the door this offseason, the first look at those departures brought a mixed bag.
Trent McDuffie, the biggest offseason move Kansas City made, made the strongest statement of the bunch. After the Chiefs traded him to the Rams, McDuffie debuted in Australia against the 49ers and looked the part right away.
Los Angeles lost by double digits, but McDuffie still turned in a sharp outing, finishing as PFF’s fourth-best cornerback with an 83.4 overall grade. He gave up just one catch on three targets.
Jaylen Watson also landed with the Rams and had a solid first game of his own. He allowed one catch on three targets and earned a 64.9 grade from PFF.
Leo Chenal’s first game with Washington went in a very different direction. Dean Jones, site expert of Riggo's Rag, FanSided's Commanders site, wasn’t especially impressed with what he saw from the former Chief.
"[He was] A bit underwhelming to be honest. Think he played about 40 percent of snaps but was clearly behind [Frankie] Luvu and [Sonny] Styles, who both outperformed him. Luvu got hurt, which gave him a bit more involvement late, but I wasn't moved really."
Bryan Cook, who joined the Bengals in the offseason, also had an active Week 1. He gave up the one target thrown his way, but he made his presence felt with nine tackles, which ranked in the top 10 among safeties for the week.
Emari Demercado got a little run with the Cowboys after Kansas City moved on from him before the season. He carried the ball twice for seven yards and was on the field for 9% of Dallas’ offensive snaps. That likely would not have been much more than he would have seen in Kansas City, where Kenneth Walker handled the work and the Chiefs appear to like rookie Emmett Johnson as the backup.
The early returns on the Chiefs’ former defenders were all over the map, but the one constant was obvious: Kansas City’s own defense held firm without them, giving up just 10 points to Denver.
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Tom Cruise Had The Perfect Reaction To Arrowheads Chiefs Atmosphere
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Cruises comments added another layer to the now-familiar intersection of Chiefs football and pop-culture attention around the teams biggest games. He also mentioned Swifts growing knowledge of football, which only reinforces how often Kansas Citys spotlight extends beyond the field these days, even before the conversation gets to what it looked and sounded like inside Arrowhead on that particular night. [Read more 🡒]