Dave Merritt talks Trent McDuffie’s strong start to the season and the Kansas City Chiefs’ cornerback battles

The Kansas City Chiefs’ cornerback position has been the subject of much discussion this offseason following the team’s decision to trade L’Jarius Sneed instead of signing him to a long-term contract in the spring. While Trent McDuffie’s elite play to begin his third NFL season shouldn’t come as a surprise, the rest of the hierarchy has provided more questions than answers throughout training camp and the preseason.

In Week 1, 2022 seventh-round pick Jaylen Watson played 96 percent of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps, indicating that the team would give him the first crack at the No. 2 cornerback job. After playing 95 percent of the snaps in Week 2, the job appears to be his for now. On Thursday, Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt discussed the cornerbacks’ position and Watson’s place in the starting lineup.

“Jaylen has done a great job for us,” Merritt said. “You know, when he played his last preseason game, and he didn’t play very well, that was a little bit of a digression for him, but since then he’s refocused, he’s gotten back to being the Jaylen Watson that we thought he was going to be, and so hopefully he’ll continue to elevate and go in the direction that he’s going right now.”

As Merritt mentioned, Watson played late in the Chiefs’ final preseason game and didn’t play well as he worked his way back into shape after offseason surgery and rehab. Now, with time to “refocus,” the next available battle appears to be for KC’s third cornerback spot.

While 2022 fourth-round pick Joshua Williams was healthy during the Chiefs’ offseason and preseason activities, he’s behind Watson in KC’s current rotation. Interestingly, in Week 2, another 2022 seventh-round pick, cornerback Nazeeh Johnson, took 22 defensive snaps compared to Williams’ six. On Thursday, Merritt discussed what Johnson brings to the team after suffering a training camp injury in 2023 that knocked him out of his sophomore season.

“There’s no better human being in this locker room, in my opinion, than Nazeeh Johnson,” Merritt said. “He’s always positive, he’s always smiling. ‘Brother,’ that’s his word. ‘What up, bro?’ Nazeeh’s one of those guys, you’ve got to play him in some of his first NFL games. If you think about it, he’s been a special teams player, and when I say play, I mean play corner. Nazeeh’s doing a great job for us, and he’s going to continue to learn. He had the touchdown he gave up the other day in the red zone, but he’s going to learn from it. He’s just a great young man that we’re happy to have in the top five, be one of the fifth pieces of this puzzle that’s getting better for us.”

The “fab five” Merritt is referring to include the five defensive backs KC selected in the 2022 NFL Draft: McDuffie, safety Bryan Cook, Williams, Watson and Johnson.

Back at the Chiefs’ top corner, Merritt was asked what had impressed him most about McDuffie’s performance so far this season.

“His ability to stay calm no matter where you put him on defense,” Merritt said. “Whether he’s going to corner, whether he’s sliding to nickel, just his ability to be able to move around, because last year he didn’t necessarily have to move around as much. He’s just a good guy to talk to, ‘Hey, this is what we’d like to do.’ Whether it’s a group, stacks, a specific receiver, Trent never bats an eye.”

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