One of the biggest questions that the Kansas City Chiefs seek to answer this offseason: Who will start at cornerback opposite Trent McDuffie?
The team has no shortage of options, but the latest development out of OTAs has the battle intensifying that much more. Chiefs safety Justin Reid revealed on Friday that third-year cornerback Nazeeh Johnson — a member of the "Fab Five" in the 2022 NFL draft class — has officially been cleared to return for team drills.
Johnson returns to action after suffering a season-ending knee injury during training camp ahead of the 2023 NFL season. He had been present for OTAs and participating in individual work in the two weeks prior, but he had not yet been cleared for team drills at least until the final week of OTAs.
Reid also confirmed something that had been heavily implied before — Johnson was tracking to be a starter on defense in 2023 before his injury. He played safety at Marshall, but he played nickel at first, and then cornerback in Kansas City before his injury last year.
“Nazeeh (Johson's) progress? Last year, he was on track to start,” Reid said. “He was really developing so well. Just consistent, smart player, knows the calls, willing tackler, and then he had that unfortunate injury.”
Johnson has been battling his way back to form, aiming to up where he left off. He recognizes that with the stiff competition in Kansas City, he doesn't have the luxury of coming back any lesser of a player than he was a season ago.
“He’s been shaking back,” Reid said of Johnson. “He was able to get some more reps with the 1s again. And he’s healing remarkably and really moving around well, so he’ll continue to build his confidence back up, and he’ll be another good player and another weapon for us.”
Johnson might have the upper hand to start opposite Trent McDuffie
Former first-round draft pick Trent McDuffie is expected to slide into the Chiefs' top cornerback role vacated by L'Jarius Sneed. The players who will start opposite McDuffie in the base and sub-package defenses remain to be seen, but there is certainly opportunity to be seized with training camp approaching.
"There's opportunity on the field right now for Josh Williams, for Nazeeh Johnson, for Jaylen Watson, for some of the rookies that we brought in," Reid said. "There's opportunity there for those guys to step up and create a name for themselves."
When three cornerbacks were on the field last year, fellow "Fab Five" members Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams rotated in with Sneed playing on the outside and McDuffie playing the slot. It's expected to look a little different this year and they've been experimenting with finding the best trio of players during practice.
Players like Chamarri Conner and Nic Jones have been earning repetitions in the slot, while McDuffie has primarily played outside cornerback. Johnson, Williams, Watson, and former Cowboys second-round pick Kelvin Joseph are among those in contention.
Johnson might be returning at just the right time to have the upper hand in that competition, though. Watson was out of practice this past week with an injury. With mandatory minicamp upon us, it's the perfect time for Johnson to recapture his previous form ahead of training camp. He could even wind up taking a good portion of the first-team repetitions with Watson sidelined.
